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🛎 ([personal profile] guestservices) wrote2022-04-26 01:31 pm
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GRAVEYARD.






GRAVEYARD


Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today...

...to be super dead. No, did you think you were getting a funeral? Sorry.

When you wake up, no matter how you died, you'll find yourself all in one piece, inside of a fairly large box that upon further inspection may in fact be a coffin. However, throwing the lid off isn't too difficult, and as you step out of your own grave, you'll find yourself standing in a cemetery behind a large mansion, where an iron gate stands between you and the entrance. Thankfully, the moment you approach, dirty and tired as you are, the gate swings open, and you're allowed immediate entrance into the mansion.

The mansion itself is a little dusty, and the furnishings are vintage at best, but... hey, it's home. Why don't you explore a little?




★
FIRST FLOOR.

★ On the first floor is a parlor and sitting area. On one of the tables is a phone, which as of Week 3, Saturday has a dial tone and can be used to contact hotel staff. In addition to that is a kitchen stocked with food - not to mention a large wine cellar full to the bursting with every kind of wine you could imagine. Vintage!

★ Walking down a long hallway, you'll find a laundry room with a washbin and a washboard, a few closets full of dusty old clothes, a large library, and an ornate dining room with a crystal chandelier.

Of note, the dining room in particular has a very tall wall of what look like portraits to one side. If you walk closer, however, you may notice that the portraits are moving - and appear to actually be holding black and white images of your friends (and enemies?) back in the hotel, so you can monitor their activities. That's nice!

★ At the very end of the first floor hallway is another door - this one is locked with a padlock. It has a message painted on the door.... Don't dead? Anyway, it seems you can't check just stroll in there! From the looks of it it would be ill-advised to attempt to break in. Occasionally there are muffled shrieks coming from beyond the door. Hmm!


1, 2, 3


★
SECOND FLOOR.

★ On the second floor of the mansion is a series of bedrooms. Just like the hotel, you'll find a room already booked with your name on a nameplate on the door - and a portrait of yourself, as well as your hostage, hanging just above the nameplate. The inside of the rooms are simple - a bed with red covers, a desk with a typewriter, and a small bathroom with a toilet and a clawfoot tub. Provided that you didn't give your belongings away, you'll find all of them on your bed, waiting for you upon your arrival.

★ A dumbwaiter sits at the end of the hallway of bedrooms. Inside of it is a typewriter, and a golden bell labeled as Virgo's. A small sign above the dumbwaiter says: PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT STAFF BY LEAVING A MESSAGE. VIRGO MAY ALSO BE SENT A TIP AND RUNG. PULL THE LEVER TO PRESS SEND. - STAFF

It seems you can reach out to the hotel staff by leaving a message or ringing the bell, though your options are limited for the latter. Sure enough, a lever in the wall next to the dumbwaiter is currently set to the "down" position. Push it to "up" and watch your message disappear.

★ Beside the dumbwaiter is one last bedroom. This room is marked with a plaque that says "Dream Suite", and has several familiar constellations decorating the door. Occasionally, when you ring the bell by the dumbwaiter while thinking of a member of Hotel Staff on the living side, the corresponding constellation on the door will light up, and you'll feel as though you should walk in. Inside, there is a line of comfortable beds. Lie down in one, and you'll have a dreamlike "in person" audience with the NPC you had attempted to contact.




★
OUTDOORS.

★ Outside of the mansion is a small garage. The ground here is worn down and thin, and you can almost make out what look like railroad tracks embedded in the dirt. Inside of the garage is a rattly old car that moves along those little railroad tracks, from the garage to the mansion front, and then back all the way around to the cemetery.

★ The cemetery where you first awaken is a direct copy of the cemetery outside of the hotel - right down to the placement of statues, mausoleums, and the creepy atmosphere. Your grave remains after you wake up in it, in case you want to take a dirt nap.

1, 2




frostythehitman: (landing on an endless desert)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2022-06-26 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[ when bucky's done having his tantrum in the graveyard, he'll approach the iron gates himself. ]

...hey Alphinaud.
sageguidance: (pic#15739222)

[personal profile] sageguidance 2022-06-27 12:47 am (UTC)(link)
[ The voice interjecting into the silence causes him to freeze, shoulders still, and Alphinaud looks up.

His eyes grow wide. ]


Wh- why... Why are you here?
frostythehitman: (ragret)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2022-06-27 01:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ shrugs ] Got blamed for a murder I didn't do and was executed. Again.
sageguidance: (pic#15665112)

[personal profile] sageguidance 2022-06-27 01:16 am (UTC)(link)
No—

[ The tremble returns to his hands, a sense of dread washing over him. ]

Please tell me it was not—not for my...
frostythehitman: (concerned)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2022-06-27 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
[ ...well, he's not about to lie. He nods. ]

Yeah. It was.
sageguidance: (pic#15711741)

[personal profile] sageguidance 2022-06-27 01:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ It's not what he wanted to hear, even if he expected it. Alphinaud's gaze falls, a hand rubbing at his already reddened eyes, and responds with a waver in his voice. ]

... Pray forgive me. I—I thought what I had left behind may have been enough, but it seems I was wrong. If only I could have done more... I'm sorry.
sageguidance: (pic#15664978)

[personal profile] sageguidance 2022-06-27 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
[ He sniffs, and nods once. ]

I left one behind in the simulation of Old Sharlayan. I had not the time to do more, but I prayed it would be all that was needed...
frostythehitman: (wtf are you talking about)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2022-06-27 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
Wait--that was the only book you left?
sageguidance: (pic#15665111)

[personal profile] sageguidance 2022-06-27 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
[ He pauses briefly, thinking. ]

I were only able to grab one. If you found others, I know not what they were, nor what could have been gleaned from them.

Yes, I had left only one. I placed my earring within it, and set the book where I thought it could be easily found. It was my hope that all of you at trial could determine it was my hint for you.
frostythehitman: (this is doing me a concern)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2022-06-27 02:20 am (UTC)(link)
Well, shit. There were two other books and we couldn't be sure about any of them.

The one with the earring, that one was the book about fire safety, right? What were you even trying to say with it?
sageguidance: (pic#15711741)

[personal profile] sageguidance 2022-06-27 02:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ Gods, it's soul crushing to think the one thing he thought would be such an obvious clue... wasn't, and Alphinaud looks so dejected for it. He can only think he's failed, and now Bucky had to pay for it. ]

... That my pursuer has associations to fire.
frostythehitman: (like you thought)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2022-06-27 02:42 am (UTC)(link)
...we thought it might be who had burns. But we weren't sure.

Everyone got hung up on who fit the clothing we found, and this hint that we bought. By the end, we were pretty evenly torn between Kim Dokja, Rin...and me.
sageguidance: (pic#15665110)

[personal profile] sageguidance 2022-06-27 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well, Alphinaud has no idea he got shoved into a FUCKING WASHING MACHINE, so whatever clothes they found is a mystery to him. Nevertheless, he hates hearing this!!

Alphinaud wipes at his eyes again, gaze fixed to the ground below. ]


No. The man they were meant to seek was Diluc.
frostythehitman: (WHAT did you say to me)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2022-06-27 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
Seriously?

Damn, we hadn't considered him at all! The hint we got indicated someone was being framed, and I guess it damn well worked.

Do you know if it was a shadow possession thing, or something he chose to do himself?
sageguidance: (pic#15664985)

[personal profile] sageguidance 2022-06-27 03:42 am (UTC)(link)
... Would that I could say, but I cannot. I had seen his face around the hotel, and knew of his name because of the guestbook provided to us, but never have we exchanged so much as a word.

If he had a reason to target me, I do not know of it. 'Tis possible I was simply unfortunate that night.
sageguidance: (pic#15664978)

[personal profile] sageguidance 2022-06-27 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
... Forgive me.

[ He could say this a thousand times and it wouldn't be enough. ]

I—I wanted to do more. I wanted to lead you all to the right choice... But I was unable to outrun him for long.
frostythehitman: (confused but kinda smug about it)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2022-06-27 05:40 am (UTC)(link)
Pretty hard to do anything else when you're getting murdered, Alphinaud.
sageguidance: (pic#15665111)

[personal profile] sageguidance 2022-06-27 06:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ He makes a small flinch. ]

Yet that inability led you here.
frostythehitman: (are you sure about that sonny)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2022-06-28 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
No, that's on the killer being smart. Or on us for being dumb.
sageguidance: (pic#15665110)

[personal profile] sageguidance 2022-06-28 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
...

[ Alphinaud exhales slowly, something he does to regain his bearings, and ends up only mildly successful. ]

Nevertheless, I cannot help but feel a little responsible for leading you all astray. [ HIS CLUE... ] You did not deserve this.
frostythehitman: (the dark center of the universe)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2022-06-28 04:02 am (UTC)(link)
Neither did you.
sageguidance: (pic#15665109)

[personal profile] sageguidance 2022-06-28 04:59 am (UTC)(link)
...

You were headed forth, were you not?
frostythehitman: (confused but kinda smug about it)

[personal profile] frostythehitman 2022-06-28 07:21 am (UTC)(link)
...through the gates? Yeah. You too, right?

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