GRAVEYARD.

[guestservices]

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!


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★

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.

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N̸A̵V̴I̶G̶A̶T̴I̴O̸N̷.̷

█ LOCATIONS █ STATUSES █ PROFILES █ AUDIENCES
█ REPORTING █ PRIVATE CONVOS █ MURDER

Comments

[decaptych]

...

I dunno, a fucking parasite...?

[ercnerd]

Who, you or him?

[decaptych]

[ He blinks once, making a slight face of furrowed brow, a drop of his gaze as he just glances here and there, mouth slightly open trying to say something else but there's nothing, at first. And just. ]

What, you think I could be a parasite?

[ercnerd]

I'm just trying to understand.

[It's not about what he thinks, but what simply is. He pauses between bites to look Aikawa's way.]

What are your thoughts on sorcerers?

[decaptych]

...I don't understand the question. I am one... I mean, I guess -- it's just too broad for me to say anything about it, you know? There's nice guys and there's bad guys, but you can say the same for anything else.

[ercnerd]

Mm.

[He's eating again.]

That's right. The same applies to every other group of people out there.

[Except demons. Demons are the worst. They can die in a fire (except Souji).]

Do you agree with him?

[decaptych]

...Agree with... who?

[ercnerd]

Kai.

Since you want to do away with him, I'm guessing not.

[decaptych]

...

'Course not... he's... killed a lot of people.

I don't want that.

[ercnerd]

I wouldn't want that, either.

[Generally speaking, life is far too precious to treat so callously.]

Is there not another way to gain full control of your body?

[decaptych]

...

[ Silence speaks? But no, really, he genuinely doesn't know. ]

...I don't even know how I got here to start with.

[ercnerd]

In the mansion or in general?

[decaptych]

I meant... how I ended up in this situation with -- that guy, to start with.

[ercnerd]

Not even a little?

[decaptych]

...

[ercnerd]

. . . Few things in the world remain a mystery forever. Even if this one does, that doesn't mean there aren't ways around it.

[decaptych]

... You're assuming I want to find out.

[ercnerd]

It's the most decisive way to deal with a problem. If you just try to wipe away the blood without addressing the wound, you'll keep bleeding.

[decaptych]

Easy enough for you to say.

[ He knows he's right, but it's the fear of seeing how deep the wound goes. ]

I just wanna not think about it at all.

[ercnerd]

If you address it now, you won't have to think about it later.

[decaptych]

It's not that easy.

[ercnerd]

Did I say that it was?

[decaptych]

I get you're peptalking me, but I'm just saying, it's not gonna work out that way.

...It just can't.

[ercnerd]

Don't worry.

[Easy enough for him to say, yes, but it comes out nonetheless.]

Once we get out of here, I'll help you. So keep talking to me until then.

[decaptych]

...

[ He can only sit there, quiet, a little bit depressed. Help... he thinks he's a bit too far for help, but he wishes, nonetheless. ]

Should've just let the script take me back in Wiwaldi.