Return To Hammerlee House Of Horrors (Ch. 25, GT)

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Aerin Penna Seleratus
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Return To Hammerlee House Of Horrors (Ch. 25, GT)

Post by Aerin Penna Seleratus »

Chyril 25th, 1215 AD

The silence was both deafening and welcome to Ceria’s ears – on the one hand, it made her wary of dangers to come but, on the other, it let her forget for a while the dangers that had already occurred. Absentmindedly, she stroked her fingers through Damon’s hair, her heavily rattled mind thinking him asleep at last and not taking note of the dark blood which had trickled from the corner of his mouth and onto both her thigh and the floor, pooling too thickly and copiously to be from a simple cut or scrape.

Damon was dead, but she refused to admit it. He was merely sleeping, that is all it was… At least he had finally stopped screaming.

Her hand moved from Damon’s hair to his shoulder where her fingers tiptoed across his muscular skin one moment and down half of the length of a phantom limb the next, her eyes looking toward the wall in anticipation of what she both knew and hoped was coming. They had only been in Hammerlee for a tide, more or less, by Ceria’s approximation and their party of five had, thanks to the damnable abode, been dropped progressively to Damon and herself rather quickly, be it by specters, other people within the walls, or even – she thought as she gazed forlornly at the ruined stumps of her own legs – by the very walls themselves.

They should have never come.

Tick…
...Tick…
......Tick…
.........Tick…
............Tick…
...............Tii..iii...iii…iii…iii…ick…


And there it was –the sound that she had both been longing for and dreading in the same breath – one tick drawn out impossibly over both flickers and yahren. Grunting, she pulled Damon’s lifeless body further up onto her own and, hugging him tightly from behind, kissed his ear and whispered “Dominicus…Find us…Deliver us…”

She never saw what killed her, nor did she feel the final tear trickle down the small scrap of face which remained intact as it fell wetly to the floor, but she did feel the soul-crushing weight of complete abandonment, even from the very God that she worshipped as she and Damon stood whole once more in a room not far from the site of their demise, their bodies semi-transparent in the dimly lit space.

Hammerlee Mansion would never let them go – Ceria was sure of it.

[hr][/hr]
Chyril 25th, 1225 AD

Ceria and Damon had been dead ten yahren, to the day, when Evening Tide turned to Grave Tide on the night of Chyril 25th – that is, ten as far as they could estimate it. In actuality, it had been over one-hundred, give or take, but time does have a way of twisting itself when one is a slave to the Hammerlee Manor. Damon was away again, brooding as usual, and the others scarce as Ceria stood alone at the window to watch for Rain as ordered. Below, she could hear naught but silence at first and then, at the sound of her master’s voice, Boris and his companion resumed the dig that they had – unknowingly – been working on for literally eons.

When Ceria had inquired about it, yahren ago, she had been given a simple and down heartening answer: “Because they, like yourself, serve my purpose.” Nothing more, nothing less. With an unneeded sigh passing through her vaporous bosom, Ceria returned her thoughts to the window as a figure approached. Even if he had been standing in the same room as she, with good lighting, Rain would have never seen her, but she could certainly see him and the mere fact that she could brought ghostly tears to the dead girl’s eyes.

The Horrors were about to begin again.

Tick…
...Tick…
......Tick…
.........Tick…
Last edited by Aerin Penna Seleratus on Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.
”The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything.” – Nietzsche

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Post by Rain Windseeker »

Rain approached the mansion as before. This time, he was much better prepared, armed with everything he could think of. Only two weapons: the mysterious sword at his side, the 'dirty fighting' sling loaded with shards of tiny rocks. The feather in his pocket. The leg bone in his backpack, along with the copied maps of the mansion and enough dry provisions and water for a single day.

It would be an interesting night. Or three nights. Or a year. Time seemed to move differently inside the manor; he had stayed for a few hours, and three days had passed.

This time, he did not bother going through the cellar. Instead, he approached the front door directly. Gathering his strength, he knocked three times in quick succession.
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Post by Aerin Penna Seleratus »

Rain heard nothing for a burn or two, save for the almost familiar flapping of the unbound window shutter overhead, and his knock was finally answered not by a familiar face, but by emptiness as the latch audibly clicked open and the door swung open invitingly, the hinges creaking like nails on a blackboard as flakes of reddened metal fell loose of the moving parts as if they were small bits of scab peeling free of wounds in the metallic skin.

Ceria stared hard into Rain’s eyes as she stood beyond the portal and gazed upon him, her lithe form invisible to him and her voice inaudible unless she said what she had been ordered to say and, even then, it was not a true voice, but rather a tickle in the back of his mind rather than his ears.

“Enter. We have been waiting.” Unseen by Rain, her lips kept moving as Ceria desperately tried to sneak in a word of warning to Rain. Some kind of sign or feeling to let him know that, until the door closed behind him, it was not too late to leave.

But the effort was to no avail.

She felt a cold chill as Boris stepped up behind and, ultimately, through her, his actions falling under a different geis. “You have returned? Very well.” Playing his role to a tee, Boris simply smiled and held the door open physically. Like Rain, he was unaware of Ceria’s presence or persistence as the intangible, invisible, and inaudible woman tried – in vain – to slam the door shut in Rain’s face.

Staff do not meddle in the master’s affairs. came a thought in both Boris and Ceria’s minds, Boris’ in his own voice as if a personal affirmation and Ceria’s in a much more alien voice – but both stemming from the same source, deep within the house.

“Would you care to come in? Have a beverage, perhaps?” Boris asked in his well-practiced low, soothing tones. Ceria shook her head in defeat and retreated further into the foyer where Damon awaited her return, the two of them passing on into the kitchen and deeper into the abode, leaving Rain and Boris alone. Blissfully unaware of any presence other than Rain’s, Boris continued the offer, as if unsurprised by the late hour of Rain’s arrival. “’Tis a wee bit late for a social call, sir, so may I assume that you will require a room for the eve so that you may conduct business in the morn?”

Behind Rain, gradually as if someone were closing a spigot, all sounds of nature had slowed to a stop and dead silence filled the void save for one sound coming from somewhere further in the house.

Tick…
…Tick…
……Tick…
………Tick…
…………Tick…
”The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything.” – Nietzsche

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Post by Rain Windseeker »

Rain smiled at Boris; a polite, formal smile. He saw none of the going-ons behind the physical facade of the mansion. Boris was merely another ghost; one who played his role as the butler, greeting Rain as a guest of the house as he had greeted a thousand other guests.

Or did Boris have other intentions?

It didn't matter. Rain took off his coat, handing it to Boris.

"Thank you. I must apologise for my late entrance, as certain events delayed my arrival."

Yeah, like getting beaten up by an old woman at a tavern, sleeping the whole day away, discovering new facts about this mansion, and meeting with a boatload of ghosts.

"A light wine will be excellent. Something to refresh my mouth before sleep. And yes, a room would be very much appreciated. I shall meet with the master in the morning to discuss our business."

The adhiel stepped gracefully inside (despite evidence to the contrary, Rain was capable of grace at rare times), and waited.
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Post by Aerin Penna Seleratus »

“As you wish, sir…” Boris gave a polite bow and motioned toward the stairs, placing Rain’s coat upon an open hook on a nearby stand. “I will show you to your room and fetch the drink directly.” With that simple comment, Boris began the trek up the staircase, once again pointing out the fourth step – only this time with a side helping of deja-vu. “Mind that step, sir. It seems about ready to give way.” When Rain had last seen the step, it was in far worse shape and seemed to have mended itself in the interim. When Boris reached the top of the stairs, he turned and smiled warmly. “I trust that you will not mind the same room that you occupied on your last stay, sir, although I assure you that the linens have been changed.” The comment appeared to be rhetorical as Boris turned without awaiting reply and began the trek down the hallway toward the room.

At the far end of the hallway, a spectral Adhiel woman named Elasia watched the pair of still-living occupants as they moved toward her. Boris, she was used to – many attempts had been made by herself and the others to contact him when opportunity had arisen, but they had been all for naught, the older man either blind and deaf to them or just ignoring them completely. One thing was for sure to her though, Boris was no more a true butler than Rain was a sultry barmaid, but visitors never saw past his façade, a fact which often irritated the pulse-less inhabitants of Hammerlee.

Elasia looked down upon the toy monkey that had taken her the better part of a day to move from Rain’s room and out into the hallway. It was a small trinket, something that she – in life – could have easily packed anywhere she could have wished to have gone, but in death it seemed to be more like a stone weight, glued down by forces in the tether which escaped her grasp. Elasia’s eyes closed in concentration as her hands struggled to grip the monkey's furry arms.

Clang…
…Clang…
……Clang…
………Clang…
…………Cla---ck…


Slowly, purposefully, the monkey’s arms separated and came together, the inanimate object as blissfully unaware of its role as a warning to Rain as it was aware of its swift decomposition into dust whenever something deeper within the house took angry awareness of it.

Elasia blinked in silence as the clapping of the cymbals came to a halt after only only five strikes and her hands had ceased to feel tension from its body. The dust piled between her fingers was answer enough, but the swiftly rusting tiny metallic plates were a confirmation. In accelerated time-lapse, Elasia watched the rusting metal vaporize into powder atop the small pile. “Ceria…” she called calmly, rising as Boris walked straight through her, his feet stomping through what little remained of the dust, the metal reduced to red powder within flickers. “He may have heard, he may not have, but we both know someone who did hear it…” she sternly warned her fellow phantom as Ceria’s head poked out of the wall between two paintings.

Elasia pointed down at both the dusty footprint and the stairs, her body almost reminiscent of a clock pointing to 1:30 as she spoke. “Best go make amends voluntarily, I would think, before amends are demanded.”

Tick…
…Tick…
……Tick…
………Tick…
Last edited by Aerin Penna Seleratus on Tue Feb 05, 2008 3:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Rain Windseeker »

Rain followed Boris up to the room - the same room as before. This time, there were no protests, no confusion, no questions. He simply followed, playing his role as a guest of the house.

"Quiet evening," he murmured, taking care to avoid the step. He didn't want a repeat of that sprained ankle, not when he had so much to do.

"Ah!" He jumped at the cymbals...did it seem familiar? That monkey in my room. It keeps clanging those cymbals, ever since last night. A haunted toy?

Shaking his head, Rain followed Boris upstairs, his foot scattering the pile of dust without even noticing. "How has your evening been?" he asked the butler, making some attempt to make small talk. I wonder if he realises what's going on. Is he living in some strange world in the past?

"Roque's in a flurry preparing for the annual Parrot Parade. Are you planning to attend?"
Last edited by Rain Windseeker on Wed Feb 06, 2008 1:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Aerin Penna Seleratus »

"How has your evening been? Roque's in a flurry preparing for the annual Parrot Parade. Are you planning to attend?"


Boris paused at the doorway to the room and rolled his eyes privately, his head throbbing with a headache which seemed to come and go at random. Rain had, in fact, noticed a symptom of Boris’ problem as he had picked up on Boris’ verbal missteps about both the ‘Master’ as well as the miraculously repaired fourth step. The older man shook his head with a sigh.

It has been as good as it has been long, sir…” he finally spoke, showing Rain the way in. “And no, sir, I had not planned to attend that particular…festivity…” The last word was alost dripping with contempt, as if Boris loathed the idea outright. “In fact, if you do not mind, sir, I think I shall fetch your drink now and retire?” Boris continued, curtly but politely, the question rhetorical as he quietly closed Rain’s door and could be heard heading back down the hallway.

All was still within the room, as silent as a tomb, except for the monkey upon the shelf which gave two half-hearted clacks of its cymbals before returning to its prior stillness, the glassy eyes bearing nothing but a blank soul beyond.

Elsewhere in the house, an only slightly younger Rain was making his way though the cellar and was about to surprise a very weary Boris with his sudden appearance…

Something deep inside the house, sensing that a paradox was at hand, strained against its bonds.

Tick…
…Tick…
……Tick…
………Tiiiiiiccccckkkk…

Before him, Rain saw the color of the bedding melt from rd to blue and the very patterns upon the cloth wish around as if alive before settling onto a new configuration. A bright, crisp ray of mid-morningtide sun peered in through the window and settled its beam upon the bed, light scattering across the pillows.

Although Rain did not know it, Lord Hammerlee the Second was downstairs at the tale, his servant dishing out his meal as she always did at this time of day…

Tick…
…Tick…
……Tick…
………Tick…
”The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything.” – Nietzsche

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Post by Rain Windseeker »

Rain let Boris go without a word, aside from a polite nod. He grinned at the monkey, sitting on the shelf again, as it had been before. Despite the eerie situation, these familiar items felt comfortable.

But when...well, he could not describe it. All the adhiel could do was watch as the room seemingly transformed. Colours, patterns, fabric, and then the sky itself. For a long moment, Rain did nothing but stare silently, with a blank expression on his face.

"Er....." He closed his eyes, then opened them again. Then several blinks, and a shake of his head. "Now that was unexpected."

One hand on his sword - how that could help was questionable, but Rain needed some comfort - the young adhiel slowly moved around the edge of the room. Something was very, very wrong, and he was stuck in the middle.

"Um...Boris?" He carefully opened the door again, peering out into the hallway. "Is it just me, or was that the shortest night ever?"
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Post by Aerin Penna Seleratus »

Chyril 25th, 1188 A.D.

Save for the resounding absence of Boris, there were quite a few changes which struck Rain as subtly as a slap to the face – changes that only the blind would miss. One of these things was the very shape of the hallway itself as he peered down the passageway. On his way to the room, he and Boris had passed two sets of doors, each unmarked and surrounded by dingy yellowing plaster. Yet the hallway that Rain found himself speaking into was shorter, one set of the doors cut harshly from sight by a wall which, had Rain not known better, looked like it had been there for a while.

It was not just the wall’s presence that was different, either – the ‘new’ wall and the ones which adjoined it were hued in brighter, younger tones than the ones that Rain had just seen flickers before. Should his mind decide to investigate comparisons further, Rain would find that even the décor was different – potted ferns and small ficus now thriving in what had previously been a dimly lit space, small candles set in wall-hung sconces illuminating the fairly clean floors within the passageway.

Up the hall and to the right, one of the other two doors was missing entirely, a curved archway in its place but, as it was on the same wall as Rain’s door, Rain was unable to see what it led to.

As for a response to his query of Boris, all that Rain received after a few more flickers of silence, was a scared and angry hiss as one of Lady Hammerlee’s favored felines emerged from the archway, spotted Rain, and quickly retreated back in the direction from which it had come.
Last edited by Aerin Penna Seleratus on Mon Feb 11, 2008 4:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Rain Windseeker »

"Oh. Huh." Rain stood back against the wall, thinking to himself. Time moves fast...have I arrived in the future? Has someone brought Hammerlee and rebuilt it?

Shaking his head, with one hand on the hilt of his sword, Rain moved quietly along the corridor, opening doors and peeking inside. All the while, he offered the occasional loud "Hello?" and "Anyone there?". His eyes were beginning to adjust to the sudden brightness, and the spots were finally fading.

Well, you wanted an adventure, you've got an adventure.

He continued to move along the corridor, probing and investigating, and heading for the stairs where he'd last seen the kitchen.
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Post by Aerin Penna Seleratus »

Silence still answered Rain’s queries each time he sent one out. Even the cat that he had seen before remained deathly quiet on the landing, its orange-black fur a sharp contrast to the brownish carpeting which covered the wooden flooring. Although Rain saw the second floor landing as being the same, however, the staircase that he had previously ascended now hugged the opposite wall, paintings of ships at dock cascading down the same wall accenting each third step with vivid color.

Rain was able to make his way down the stairs and past the cat without incident, the entries to the library and kitchen still where he knew them to be, but a new hallway now emerged between the two doors, its darkened maw almost daring Rain to enter.
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Post by Rain Windseeker »

Rain frowned as he glanced into the dark hallway. It was either that, or the kitchen.

If I walk out of this house, will I enter the past?

He didn't exactly have a lot of ties to the present. Friends would come and go, family didn't exist anymore, and work would always be found. It didn't matter where he ended up, really.

Taking a deep breath, hand gripping the hilt of his sword, the adhiel explorer walked quietly down the corridor.

No fun without risk.
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Post by Aerin Penna Seleratus »

A pair of long-dead eyes watched as Rain crept toward the stairs, an apathetic chuckle swallowed as one of Lord Hammerlee II’s servants emerged quite unexpectedly from the staircase and – without hesitation in her step – walked cleanly and swiftly through Rain as if the Adhiel did not exist at all, a bundle of laundry in her hands and a whistled song upon her lips.

Do’jon could remember the first time he became as vapor, the empty feeling that he got in the pit of his stomach as his mind reeled wondering how and if he had died, the feeling of white hot icicles as flesh and non-flesh crossed in space, and the taste of copper that fear left in his mouth. It was an inescapable shock to anyone – Do’jon and countless others had been no exceptions. To be true, he was well used to the sensations now and this newcomer – whoever he was – was just one of the many who wandered the halls in search of that which Do’jon felt was rightfully his.

We will see… the malevolent spirit thought before stepping back into the shadows from which he had arisen. We will see… The servant with the laundry disappeared into the room across from the stairwell doorway and closed the door behind her and the stairs, well lit with the sunlight streaming through the foyer windows, awaited Rain on the other side, depending on where he chose to go – if anywhere.

Deep within the house, another presence watched Rain without truly being able to see him.

It watched… And it waited….

Tick…
…Tick…
……Tick…
……..Tick…

OOC: Sorry about the delay.
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Post by Rain Windseeker »

"Hey! I-" Rain stopped in mid-sentence as the servant moved through his body. "Uh..."

With a soft sigh, he watched the maid, following closely behind her. There was something very odd about the whole situation, but he really could not follow. The only thing left to do was to simply play along, explore, and perhaps something would be revealed.

For instance, whether he was in a house of ghosts...or given the time-shifting nature of the house, whether he'd gone so far ahead of time he was the ghost.

With another sigh, he followed the maid.
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Post by Aerin Penna Seleratus »

The maid entered a large bedroom – larger than the one Rain had occupied – and set her load down on the foot of one of the four beds within, drawing out a sheet and choosing the bed farthest from her. The clothes on her portly form were less than flattering to her shape to begin with, made even more so by the fact that, when she shook the sheet out over the mattress, everything that should have jiggled did not and every thing which should not have jiggled… did. Off-tune music hit Rain’s ears as she began to whistle what sounded like a cross between a Dortenese lullaby and a Trothgardian funeral dirge. Her unwitting serenade to Rain only intensified in its inverted beauty as the sound of a half-starved, half-drowned, half-strangled cat in heat dragged its way past the few teeth that she had and nestled itself in Rain’s ears.

With each stanza, the put a sheet upon a bed until, in turn, all were loosely sheeted. Only after the last sheet was lain did she bend over to tuck them in, the crevice between her buttocks zipping upward out of her ill-fitting skirt as she bent over to tuck in the corners, thick black hair spanning the gap this way and that and an angry-looking whitehead with almost blackened rings of irritation and neglect laid its sightless eye upon Rain from her rump, going up and down with the motions, sleeplessness in 'the unseeing eye' apparent in the dark red flesh surrounding it.

“Whoop…thar she blows! Whoop…thar she blows…” sang the maid as she stooped lower to gather up a dainty-looking corset from beneath one of the beds, the fingers of her free hand hiking the skirt back up higher than it was normally supposed to ride, overcompensating for the unexpected droop and giving Rain the awe-inspiring sight of what looked like thick ropes of sheep gut packed with rocks that made up the lower curve of her less than sensual buttocks.

“Ya love it, mah prince, my lady curves an’ scents” she sang, whipping the fleshy bags of potatoes out of Rain’s vision as she turned and shimmied seductively toward him, the thick and sickly flaps of breast above her hands bounding up and down in a tempo other than the one the song was in as she held the corset against herself, liver-spotted skin threatening to vomit out of her décolleté with every thrusting lift as she walked through the vaporous Windseeker and admired herself in the full-length wall mirror, winking at her equally unpretty twin before leaving the room once more.
Last edited by Aerin Penna Seleratus on Thu Mar 06, 2008 4:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Rain Windseeker »

Rain stared at the beastly woman as she worked. He knew it was a horrific sight, and he knew there was no possibility of arousal...and yet, a morbid sense of curiosity kept him rooted to the spot, staring at the flabs and spots and the unnatural amount of body hair on the maid. It gave him the same feeling that one would get from looking at a carriage accident or a leper.

It wasn't until she had left that the adhiel shook his head, clearing the horrible (yet oddly curious) images from his head. He had to focus, to find out where and when he was. Looking around the garden, he quickly went back into the house, scouring the corridors, looking for other signs of life. Perhaps someone around here would be in conversation, and could at least offer some clues to his whereabouts.
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Rain, due to loss of focus - caused no doubt by the grotesque maid – was only in a garden of his mind as he moved through the corridors, a ghostly hand grabbing at him twice in half a burn without effect until, at once, it seemed as tangible as he and latched onto his shirt, ripping him back into a hallway a mere flicker before the walls of the house shifted once more, rapidly-appearing boards brushing up against his arm and hand, eager to consume the flesh even if unwittingly so.

Rain would find himself face-to-face with Ceria. “Keep your head, or you’ll be dead…” she muttered, looking up and down the hallway for…something… Rain would note that once again, the walls and floors had returned to a state of rot and disrepair, a bit worse than when he had first entered the house, showing a furthered passage of time. Ceria’s eyes returned to his as she released him and took a step back. “Who are you?” she asked. “Why are you here?”
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Post by Rain Windseeker »

"Hey-!" Rain protested as he was pulled. "What the-?"

He stopped short, staring at the girl's face. She could see him? He was confused and scared and hopeful all at the same time, and it was proving a headache-inducing combination. His hand had, on reflex, grabbed at the sword at his side - again, the strange short sword he'd taken from the skeleton. The steel slid two inches from its scabbard before the adhiel finally took a breath.

"Who...what...who are you?" Rain shook his head to clear any mists. "What's going on?"
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“Hey!” Ceria replied as she stepped back, a wary eye on his blade. “I asked you first, breather.” Her cynicism was a good shield against fear at times and, being dead, she knew that she had nothing to fear from his blade – she had tried countless times before to fall upon many just like it with no effect but, truth be told, someone drawing a blade on her was still able to invoke the defensive reflex.

She would wait with the infinite patience of the deceased for him to answer her question before finally answering his. “I am Ceria and that is all that you need to know for now. You are trapped, in case you were not aware, with a puzzle that so many others have died trying to solve.” She took a look down at his blade and smiled. “And that…my friend…is useless here, I’m afraid…” Her eyes returned to his.

“I will ask this one thing before I aid you any more – do you wish to merely escape, to help free us, to find treasure, or is it that you wish to change history itself?” she asked, her eyes giving the silent suggestion that he could only choose one.
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Post by Rain Windseeker »

"Uh...I'm Rain. A...traveller. Boris said...um, he seems okay with my stay. I think. If he's still around."

Rain shook his head.

"I've no idea what you're on about. All I know is that this isn't the time I'm in. I'm not sure if I know anything about changing history, or freeing you, or what treasures might be in here. I've read up the history of the place, but..."

He shrugged.

"To be honest, I am completely confused as to what is happening. Or even where, or when I am. All I know is that this mansion distorts time, speeds it up, somehow. Have I arrived in the future?"
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Post by Gutter Rat »

“Boris is not here now, nor are you…” she sighed. “As for the rest, I was not supposed to tell you, but you are in the grip of a dem---urk!” she began, a thrown knife appearing in her throat at the very last flicker. Before Rain would be able to move to catch her, she would fall to her knees and vanish into thin air as if she had never existed at all.

“Don’t pay her any mind…” said a man’s disembodied voice from the shadows. “This is all just a dream…”

There was a chuckle followed by:

Tick…
…Tick…
……Tick…
………Tick…
…………Tiiiiick…

And on the elongated tick, the world shifted once more, rain plummeting down a story to land haphazardly on an old divan, the dust rising in a cloud and settling around him once more. Beyond the window, moonlight streamed in and, before him on a blanket, an unattended baby cooed in its sleep.
Daemons come out at night...and so do the rats.
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Rain Windseeker
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Post by Rain Windseeker »

OOC: Sorry I've taken so long; had to go interstate and couldn't find reliable internet access.

IC:
"I...um...oh!" Rain suddenly pressed himself against the wall at the sight of the dagger, but then he was falling and landing on...

Softness? The adhiel raised his head, looking around.

"What in the name of the Mother is going on?" he shouted to nobody in particular. He was so concerned by the sudden shift in events that he failed to notice the child for a while.

When he did, however, he blinked.

"Um...hello? Anyone?" He stared around. "Anyone out there?"

Reaching out a hand, Rain reached to touch the child on the blanket.
Gutter Rat
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Post by Gutter Rat »

Rain felt a tingle in his hand as he reached for the little girl, the cherubic face giving a wide-mouthed, toothless smile as his fingers got closer and closer, the skin on his hand turning doughy and spotted as they neared the child’s flesh, the knuckles tightening upon themselves as if each were being gripped in a vice. If he decided to close his hand, the jarring sensation of doing so would invoke a bit of nausea and the pain involved would be like nothing that he had ever felt before.

If he withdrew, his hand would return to normal.

If he continued and touched, who knew what would happen?
Daemons come out at night...and so do the rats.
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Rain Windseeker
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Post by Rain Windseeker »

"Gah!" Rain pulled his hand out quickly, staring at it. He stared back at the baby, slowly backing away. "Who are you? Or...what are you?"

The adhiel banged a hand on the wall. "Hey! Anybody out there? What's going on? Boris? Someone?"

He continued to bang on the wall a few more times, before calming down and taking a more careful look around the room. He had to leave, somehow. Not enough preparation, the events occuring too fast, whirring around his head. He needed to take a break, rest for a night, before plunging himself back into this mystery again.
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Post by Gutter Rat »

Rain would, once he took a look around, ass a doorway just beyond the couch which led out into a short, dark, musty hallway which came to a dead end at one end and a receding ceiling on the other, the 'hallway' narrowing down to a mere crawlspace before light could be seen...

...through the broken fourth step on the staircase. It would take a little work, but a few other steps could be pried or broken away, revealing both an exit and some human remains, once the light his the floor beneath the stairs, a mottled skeleton coated in dust and petrified meat, a small tome clutched in its lifeless right hand.
Daemons come out at night...and so do the rats.
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