Murray's Journey: Finders Keepers

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,It was the second line: "Get better and I'll hire a home for [b]her[/b], little miss" that convinced me utterly that the animal had to be female (it would have said "you" had it been referring to the girl). Is this line supposed to say something different?

[Laraqua]

Show,that just reveals how tenacious gendering nouns really is. I didn't intend to imply any gender one way or another. Silly me. I'll grant you an additional chance to solve the puzzle so you have two more gos rather than one to make up for it.

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,Thank you, though I wasted two attempts because I thought the cat had to go there.

Murray hastily rearranges the animals, leaving the duck with the child in the first bed, placing the rabbit with the second child, the horse with the third child, and the cat with the woman. A horse would need a place to keep it, he thinks. A cat doesn't take up much room.

[Laraqua]

Spoiler:

Show, you need no further attempts....

The woman ceases to melt although the melting seems to have affected her enough that her clutched hand collapses and shatters on the floor, releasing a key and a metallic vial that patters across the floor.

[Mr. Handy]

Murray picks up the key and vial and inspects them closely, looking for a label or something that would give some indication as to how they were meant to be used. Good thing that vial wasn't made of glass, he thinks. It would've broken when she dropped it.

[Laraqua]

The vial is called Aglaophitus and it seems to contain a thick, reddish substance, judging by the little glass window that luckily enough didn't break. The key is to 392 and it's markings state that it shouldn't be duplicated. Likely a post office box key.

[Mr. Handy]

Whatever these are for, they must be important, thinks Murray. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been so hard to get. He slips the key and the vial into one of his trenchcoat's pockets, gathers his things, and backtracks to the prep room and the secret tunnel so that he can follow it back to the other hospital (the concept of which still makes his head hurt) and rejoin Craig. He'd been away far too long.

[Laraqua]

Craig is crouched down in the corner of the room, his head in his arms, muttering to himself. "...not s'posed to be like here..." rises from his muttering before it falls below hearing level again. He doesn't seem to note Murray's arrival.

[Mr. Handy]

"I'm back, Craig," says Murray quietly. "Sorry I was gone so long. I couldn't find Ash, but I did find another lead that may shed some light on what's going on."

[Laraqua]

Craig looked up mournfully. "You found a way out?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Not exactly, but I'm not sure why we can't just retrace our steps and leave the way we came in," says Murray. "I didn't find Ash either, but I did find a secret passage hidden behind a painting in one of the rooms. I had to solve this bizarre puzzle to do it. I know it sounds nuts, but the passage led to another copy of the hospital. I explored this floor fully in the other hospital except for a stairwell, and we could always use that to get back down to the ground floor. I also found this neat crowbar. There was another puzzle in the ICU there. I had to collect a bunch of stuffed animals scattered around the floor and distribute them to a bunch of dummies. When I did, I found a vial with reddish stuff called Aglaophitus, whatever that is, and what looks like a post office box key. Is the post office anywhere near the hospital?"

[Laraqua]

"Yeah, just a bit further up north on Crichton Street," said Craig. He stared at Murray for a long moment. "How can you be so calm? Do you even know where you are? What this is? This is a nightmare that you can't wake up from. Why aren't you afraid?"

[Mr. Handy]

Murray lifts his fedora and scratches his head. "I dunno, never really thought about it," he says. "Now that you mention it, I damn well oughta be scared. I know I was terrified when I encountered those monsters, but I don't feel that way when one of them isn't actually trying to eat my face or whatever it is they do at the moment. I guess...well, when I've got a mystery to solve I kind of focus on that to the exclusion of all else, and I've landed in the middle of the most mysterious place I've ever heard of. I'd known Silent Hill was a tourist trap, but I hadn't suspected that was meant literally. Still, I'm determined to get to the bottom of this place and get through it. I've never had a case that stumped me before, and I don't intend to start now. The truth is out there, it's just a matter of finding it. Just gotta keep at it until I do. I suppose another part of why I don't feel afraid is that this place seems so dreamlike, so unreal."

[Laraqua]

"You don't die in dreams," says Craig miserably, wrapping his arms around his bust. "You seem to think you can solve it. Solve what? How to get out of here? How do you know you're not just chasing your own tail?"

He sighs and slowly stands.

"So you said there was a way out through this other hospital?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Well, there might be," said Murray. "I never did explore the stairs, but there could be a way down to ground level there. I still don't know why we can't just leave the way we came in. Did something get blocked off behind us? I don't know if I'm not chasing my own tail. Sometimes it feels like I am. But I know if I keep at something long enough, I can find a way. Do you think you can manage to carry that suitcase? If not, I'll take it in my free hand and let you carry the crowbar."

[Laraqua]

“I’ll be fine. The suitcase won’t give me any trouble.” Craig stood up, wincing and grasping at his wound. “Maybe. Found any surgical tools or anything for me yet?”

[Mr. Handy]

"As a matter of fact, I did," says Murray. "I'm not sure how sterile they are, but they're in the operating prep room at the other end of the secret passage. It's this way." He leads Craig to the tunnel he discovered.

[Laraqua]

The path to the tunnel is quiet and without any issue which is good as Craig drags his feet a little, favoring one side to prevent the muscles around his wound from pulling too much. He gazes up at the vent tunnel and winces. "I have to get up there, don't I? I don't suppose you found a chair on your travels. I ... I can't really remember if we passed any." He looks around the room. "There's no visitors chairs in here."

[Mr. Handy]

"I don't remember seeing one, now that you mention it," says Murray. "I can give you a boost up, though."

OOC,I didn't realize you had to climb up to enter the passage behind the painting. I just thought you had to duck down due to the low ceiling.

[Laraqua]

Show,it's not so much climb up as hoist yourself up. It'd start at a height level with the bottom of Murray's ribs. It wouldn't be an issue normally. It's just that Craig is in pain and was shot in the torso so hoisting himself up isn't going to be fun for him. A boost up will do the job.

Craig shies away at that. "You want me to go in first?"