Play@YSDC

"Those aren't rats..." whispers Kathryn with a shudder, rather wishing they had been. "Shine the light on whatever they were gathering toward."

Ivy follows Kathryn’s instructions and shines her flashlight onto the larger object.

"Blast that thingswith your flashlight, Ivy!" Michael tries not to show his fear. "It's afraid of the light. We've gotta chase it away!"

As investigators point their lights at the beings on the floor, the things separate and hide in the dark spots of the room. Silence returns.

“I wonder if these things are related to the things that attacked us?” muses Ivy, nose wrinkling with disgust.

She chases some of them around the room with the beam of her flashlight.

”Is there a light switch I wonder?”

Kathryn looks around for a light switch, though she doubts there's still electricity in the mansion, if there ever was in the first place.

OOC,Spot Hidden roll (55% skill) searching for a light switch: [dice]0[/dice]

Michael whistles through his teeth, a long, low sound indicating bemusement. "As long as we got flashlights, those things will stay out of the way. As much as I hate to say it, I think we better keep goin' and see what else is waitin' for us in this funhouse."

"I hate to say this, but you're right... Let's press on shall we?"

Ivy takes a few steps into the room, swinging her flashlight from side to side.

The house is old and has no electricity.

The group enters the room. The smell of salty is strong and the ambiance is moist. The floor is so decrepit and fragmented, that footsteps generate shock waves, creaking at multiple points of the wooden surface. Every step echoes like a small ghostly cry ahead and behind. The floor is also dotted with ten greenish spots, looking like residues of dead algae. Each spot is a circular flat green mass, about ten inches in diameter.

The room is a dining room. A mahogany upholstered sofa, a marble-topped mahogany table and eight small chairs occupy most of the room.
There’s a fireplace made of white marble and wall lanterns made from and rococo-style candelabras. There is also a piece of furniture hosting a crystal set with porcelain dishes and silver crockery. The floor is made of waxed wood, while walls are painted in subtle shades of pale blue. The walls have mirrors that create the perception that the room is larger by reflecting the light of the flashlights.

There are two open doors. One leads to whatonce was a bathroom. The floor is almost non-existent and completely covered with vegetation. Plants and shrubs also conquered the sink, toilet and bathtub. There are smudges on the windows and mirrors.

The other door leads to the hallway. Here doors and windows are covered with a thick layer dust that looks like it has been untouched for years.
The smell of closed is unbearable, it seems that the entire house has been buried for decades. The newest residents of the house are the spiders. Many have laced the walls with cobwebs of intricate beauty. A scarlet red carpet covers the hallway floor. The floorboards are broken in several places, and this allowed the grass to generate scattered tufts throughout the entire floor. A large glass chandelier hangs from the ceiling. The floor creaks under the feet making a squealing noise, louder than the footsteps noise. Ther are two closed door leading from the hallway to other rooms, respectively on the West and East walls. From the door on the west wall comes a nauseating and unbearable smell difficult to identify, something rotten or decomposing.

"Let's try that door first," whispers Kathryn, wrinkling her nose. She indicates the door on the east wall.

"Jake by me,"Michael says. "Smells like somethin' -- or somebody -- died in that other room." He tries to open the east door slowly and quietly, pistol ready.

Ivy nods her assent.

”Yes yes, if we must.”

The room is a dark living room, containing many pieces of antique furniture, made of richer materials. Windows are shuttered with wodden planks. The furnishings and their placement in the house is typical of the nineteenth century style. Being untouched for years, this furniture is decaying and frayed. Here also, the floor is awash with the detritus of wildlife.
The room comprehends a square rosewood piano, a mahogany stand for bric-a-brac, two large upholstered rosewood sofas and two large armchairs. The sofa are covered with blankets decorated with embroidery’s. The room furniture also includes a walnut writing table with three wooden rocking chairs.
Many keys are missing in the piano and its lid is closed.
With careful observation, the investigator notices that the piano lid is not just closed, it is sealed. A kind of glue or resin seals the lid. The color of this substance is greenish.

"Something tells me tinkling the ivories would be a bad idea," muses Ivy.

Instead, she takes a look around the writing table for any interesting letters, books etc.

"Whoever did that with the piano may be trying to keep something in," says Kathryn. "It couldn't be Timothy, he wouldn't be able to breathe." Gun in hand, she takes a peek under the blankets.

There is nothing under the covers. The table is also empty and covered in dust. But there is a small drawer, with a folded, yellowed and decrepit piece of paper. It was certainly written many years ago.

It is a brief message.

The maid who escaped from your house has reached Greyton, and has been hosted by Father Colby. She was in a confused and delirious state. A few days after her arrival she killed herself, after giving birth. I met Colby and he told me he will raise the kid. The priest ignores what happened to her. I doubt she was able to tell anyone what she knows.

While the group reads the message, they hear some heavy steps over their heads, from the upper floor. The steps quickly move westward, then go down a stairs. The noise extinguishes in the room to the west, the one with the terrible odor.

Ivy freezes as the footsteps clump above them. She ceases her searching.

"I wonder if we should go say hello..." she whispers.

"No, let's hide and put out our lights," whispers Kathryn, looking around for a good hiding spot. "Whoever it is may not be friendly. Let's get a look at them before we let them get a look at us."

OOC,I'm sorry, I must have missed the update. Stealth roll (60% skill) hiding in the room: [dice]0[/dice]

A big lummox like Michael doesn't have many places to hide. He tries to squat down under the piano, as quietly as he can; fat chance!
When he bends down he hits his head on the bottom of the piano, setting the strings vibrating and letting out a few choice curse words, to the annoyance of everyone else. At least he'll take the opportunity to listen to the piano and see if he can tell if anything's moving around inside.
The noise he made covers up anything he might be able to hear inside.

Guess this wasn't such a hot idea after all.