[IrishElk] Escape from Golden Manor - LATVENTURE

[irishelk]

Welcome to my lateral text adventure, yay! I'm not going to be picky on language, just tell me what your character will do and I'll do it. Feel free to name or give more characteristics to yourself, if that's your style. There may be a couple of places where the decisions made will have irreversible consequences, but those shouldn't be until near the end...and I'll allow some rewinding at that point.

“I almost feel bad, makin' you go in on your own,” Keen sighs, glancing back down the tunnel at you. Her short red hair and freckles make her look perpetually youthful and innocent despite her age. But there is a flash of mischief in her green eyes. “No worries though, you’ll have plenty of help, I'm sure. Look, anything you find, you just haul out, and we’ll split this fifty-fifty. Deal?”

You are tempted to renegotiate the deal, now, but of course you wouldn’t be here if not for Keen. She showed you the entrance to the tunnel into Golden Manor, which was rumored to be lost forever. She’d climbed through the sewer with you, and she was crouched with you now, in the low-ceilinged, mildewed root cellar. You nod to her conditions, but say, “What else can you tell me about this place?”

“Oh wow, the stories I could tell. Me and Allie, Brian, Nate and Jack…Wait, didn’t I give you the papers? There’s a map, a newspaper clipping, and my instructions. Didn’t I hand them to you?”

You check your backpack to be polite, but of course it’s empty. She didn’t hand you a thing.

“Oh, of course. I left them in the mudroom, the last time I tried to go in there.”

“The mudroom?”

“Yeah, the room right through there.” Keen points upward to a circular metal disc in the ceiling of the cellar, like (you imagine) a sewer cover would appear from below. “I came here a few years ago, and walked through the Manor for a bit, but I got sorta…antsy. You’ll do much better, I know. I left all the directions you need right on the other side. I’m ninety percent sure.”

You know from previous talks with Keen that her ninety-percents don’t count for all that much. “Okay, let’s go then. Come with me until we find your maps and whatnot, so we can review them together.”

“Nah, I don’t think anyone wants me goin’ back in there again.” What could she mean by that? “But my map’s clear as crystal 'bout where the loot is hid—just follow it.”

You stand to push the sewer lid up, noticing uncomfortably as you do that there is a bolt lock on it. Once you climb up to the other side, someone could lock you up there. “Keen? Listen. I’m going to go up and see if your papers are up there. I’ll bring them right back down, okay? Just stay here and don’t move.”

“Got it.”

You push the lid the rest of the way off, then hoist yourself up into the so-called “mudroom.” It’s pitch-black in here, and smells damp and earthy. You take a few tentative steps forward—and hear the sewer lid quickly rattle shut behind you. There’s a click that sounds stomach-churningly like a bolt being latched.

Welcome to Golden Manor. What do you do?

[Balin]

What do I do? I get giddy in the excitement for a Latventure. What my character does, though....

Look around. What does the mudroom look like? Are there any papers visible, and is there anything that looks like it could hold papers?
Try opening the sewer lid again.
What exactly do I know about Keen and how did I meet her?
What else do I know about the Golden Manor?

[irishelk]

Balin

What do I do? I get giddy in the excitement for a Latventure. Good first move! What my character does, though....

Look around. What does the mudroom look like? Still pitch-black--can't see a thing. Are there any papers visible, and is there anything that looks like it could hold papers? Dang, good idea. Really wish I could see literally anything at all.

Try opening the sewer lid again. You dig your fingers in and lift with all your strength, but it's not budging. The bolt's locked.

What exactly do I know about Keen and how did I meet her? It was fortuitous, really. You had been advertising as a treasure hunter for weeks with no potential clients. You were about to pack it in when she called, wanting someone to help her search for the legendary lost treasure of Golden Manor. When you admitted you didn't have much experience, it was almost like that made her more eager to hire you!

What else do I know about the Golden Manor? Not too much, unfortunately--Keen was eager to get going right away, so you didn't have much time to research. You remember vaguely that it belongs to an old-wealth family in the area--well, as old as wealth can get in California. There's rumored to be something valuable hidden in here: you presume gold, from the name, but who knows? And it's rumored to be haunted, of course.

[Balin]

What have I got in my backpack? Any light source - perhaps a flashlight? If so, please light it and look around.

[Earnest]

“I almost feel bad, makin' you go in on your own,” Keen sighs, glancing back down the tunnel at you. Her short red hair and freckles make her look perpetually youthful and innocent despite her age. But there is a flash of mischief in her green eyes. “No worries though, you’ll have plenty of help, I'm sure. Look, anything you find, you just haul out, and we’ll split this fifty-fifty. Deal?” -----> may I say that this resembled me a lot Aladdin scene of the cavern? That's cool!

Hi,

I am Earnest Jones the apprentice adventurer of Mr. Scott who had recently died in Eldorado. Mr Scott had always advised me to be suspicious so what I am thinking right now is that there should be some connection between Keen and the family...maybe Keen had lied or omitted something. Also, I am afraid that she needed a sacrificial victim. My lack of experience made me more live in her eyes maybe...a more expert adventurer would have had much more information.

Smells damp and earthy...mmm maybe there is some source of water and there are few openings...well ok I am in sewer but anyway...any relevant sound? Any other relevant smell? I would touch the ground please...is it made of mud? Land? Others? Is Keen able to hear you? To talk with you (if so can we try to ask her if she closed the sewer and why she did it? What if we threaten her not to take the treasure?)? Can we assume she escaped? Any eco if a noise is made?

Assuming that a light has been turned on after Balin's move, is there any opening (more than one? Many doors that led to other rooms?)? Any source of water (maybe following the current will lead us somewhere)? Any door? Any paper? Any mention of the treasure? Anything relevant on walls? Any direction? Sign of death ? Sign of past steps? Steps of past explorers? Signs of Keen (she claimed to have been already there right?)?

[irishelk]

Balin

What have I got in my backpack? Hm, haven't pulled this thing out since college, let's see...a PENCIL, my STUDENT ID, a crumpled up PIECE OF PAPER that got wedged in the bottom, some LINT, and, what is this? You're trying to figure out just by feeling...oh, it's a roll of LIFESAVERS candy.
Any light source - perhaps a flashlight? If so, please light it and look around. Wait--don't wintergreen Lifesavers glow in the dark when you break them?! Excited, you snap one in half. There's a brief spark of light in the dark, then nothing. Well, that was dumb.


Earnest

may I say that this resembled me a lot Aladdin scene of the cavern? That's cool! Nice! I'm sure that scene was unconsciously rattling around in my brain!

Hi,

I am Earnest Jones the apprentice adventurer of Mr. Scott who had recently died in Eldorado. Mr Scott had always advised me to be suspicious so what I am thinking right now is that there should be some connection between Keen and the family...maybe Keen had lied or omitted something. Also, I am afraid that she needed a sacrificial victim. My lack of experience made me more live in her eyes maybe...a more expert adventurer would have had much more information. Hi Mr. Jones. I think you might be on to something there.

Smells damp and earthy...mmm maybe there is some source of water and there are few openings...well ok I am in sewer but anyway...any relevant sound? You stand still for a moment, but there is total darkness. Any other relevant smell? Just earth and wintergreen Lifesaver.
I would touch the ground please...is it made of mud? Land? Others? Sure. It's concrete flooring, but there's a thin layer of dirt on top of it. Ew. You wipe your hand on your pant leg.

Is Keen able to hear you? Maybe. To talk with you (if so can we try to ask her if she closed the sewer and why she did it? You call down to her with this question. Her reply comes muffled through the floor, "Well, y'see, there's some things up there that might not like me hanging around. I'd rather leave this closed, if you don't mind. But don't worry, they'll love you. Tell you what, once you find the loot, head to the Garden and climb over the wall. That'll put you out-front a the house, and I'll meet ya there."
What if we threaten her not to take the treasure?)? "Aw, come on. You want it as much as I do. 'Sides, you might need my help gettin' out the other side, so I'd be careful with who you threaten, dearie."
Can we assume she escaped? With that, you hear her footsteps retreat out of the cellar beneath you, back in the direction of the sewer tunnel. Yeah, she's gone. Any eco if a noise is made? There was no echo when you spoke; in fact, your voice sounds very close and dampened, as if you are in a small room with lots of stuff in it.

Assuming that a light has been turned on after Balin's move, is there any opening (more than one? Many doors that led to other rooms?)? Any source of water (maybe following the current will lead us somewhere)? Any door? Any paper? Any mention of the treasure? Anything relevant on walls? Any direction? Sign of death ? Sign of past steps? Steps of past explorers? Signs of Keen (she claimed to have been already there right?)? All wonderful questions, but you still can't see a darn thing. You don't hear any water.

[Earnest]

Irish do you mind if I (and I invite also others to do so, please) I take notes on important info? So:

they will love you --> who?
you are in a small room with lots of stuff in it
Keen said: head to the Garden and climb over the wall. That'll put you out-front a the house, and I'll meet ya there

Since we do not know if there is someone else in the room; tell that you come in peace and introduce yourself with a fake name; tell that you know Keen and wait for the reaction of the possible other entity in the room (if he/she dislikes Keen tell that she forced you to come to the room; if he/she does not know Keen go directly to the next step; if he/she likes Keen, go to the next step directly please); please ask if there is someone else and if he/she is able to turn the light on.
It's concrete flooring, but there's a thin layer of dirt on top of it. --> dust? Can we identify what type of dirt somehow?
Please walk slowly right in front of you with arms in front of you like a zombie--> do my arms crash into something? Do my legs? Please touch it...whatever is that? A table? Can you light up some Lifesavers? Can you see something?

Please, grope around --> anything relevant? Do eyes get used to darkness?

[Acridian9]

Anything in our pockets? Btw, how are we dressed?

[irishelk]

Earnest

Irish do you mind if I (and I invite also others to do so, please) I take notes on important info? Sure! Given that you have a pencil and piece of paper in the backpack, I think you can take as many notes as needed. I also like the convention of using italics if you're talking to other players (or me OOC).

Since we do not know if there is someone else in the room; tell that you come in peace and introduce yourself with a fake name; tell that you know Keen and wait for the reaction of the possible other entity in the room (if he/she dislikes Keen tell that she forced you to come to the room; if he/she does not know Keen go directly to the next step; if he/she likes Keen, go to the next step directly please); please ask if there is someone else and if he/she is able to turn the light on. You declare all of this in your best "totally not afraid of the dark" voice. There is no response--except when you first say "is there someone else here?" you think you might hear a playful laugh, in a high-pitched, maybe-female voice. After that there is silence.
It's concrete flooring, but there's a thin layer of dirt on top of it. --> dust? Can we identify what type of dirt somehow? Oh boy. You have to touch it again? Gross. Okay, well, it feels like regular dirt, kind of crumbly and clay-like, like the soil in this area. It's not a thick layer, more like the accumulated detritus of years of people stomping through in muddy boots.
Please walk slowly right in front of you with arms in front of you like a zombie--> do my arms crash into something? After walking just a couple of feet, your hands hit a wall. So at least in this direction, it's a narrow room.
And it might be a good time to mention: you are blessed with an impeccable internal compass. Part of the reason you think you might be a good treasure hunter. So--you know that you just walked east from one side of the room to the other. Do my legs? Please touch it...whatever is that? Just a wall. Feels like plaster. A table? Can you light up some Lifesavers? You snap a few more. Can you see something? Just a little split-second spark of light each time one snaps. This is some good clean fun, but probably will not find you any treasure.

Please, grope around --> anything relevant? You reach out to the left (north)--nothing, but there is more space that way to walk if you like. You grope around to the right (south)--your hand hits something. You hear a lot of glass rattling, and something hit the floor and smash. Oops!
The thing you're touching feels like a piece of furniture or shelving made of wood. There's also more empty space to walk around it to the south if you want. Do eyes get used to darkness? Unfortunately, no, there's no light in here whatsoever.


Acridian9

Anything in our pockets? Let's see...your house keys and your wallet, which contains your driver's license and $12.57. Your life savings! Yeah, you really need this payday. Btw, how are we dressed? I leave that entirely up to you! Not wearing anything especially useful though. =)

[Earnest]

Thinking to myself...if someone laughed, either there is an opening or the walls are not that thick so that someone can hear me...


does the voice sound like Keen's voice? Can you please ask again if there is someone this time on the south side and on the north side...can I hear the female voice?...and throw some mud on these sides please

Can I reach the ceiling? If so please touch all around...does something happen?
Please, explore more north and south...what about west?

Piece of furniture or shelving made of wood --> is there something on it? Are the glass empty? Relevant how many they are? Do they contain something? A liquid? If they are not useful put inside the bag...maybe they will be later on?

Can I identify from which side the voice came from (north,east, south or west?) Maybe I can go that direction...

[trebor]

I have a suspicion that the giggling we heard could also be from a voice-activated sensor within a doll or something. Or a camera. Hmm. I'm also thinking that at some point the our life savings of $12.57 might have something to do with the Lifesavers.

Is our student ID for a post-secondary institution? High school? What have we been studying there?

Being careful not to cut yourself, can you examine the furniture you bumped into and its contents? Is it a shelf? Or a lamp? Are you able to tell what you broke? Did you break a light fixture? Once you've completed your examination of that can you proceed south of whatever you bumped into, checking for a light switch or dangly chain or some other light source?

[irishelk]

Earnest

does the voice sound like Keen's voice? No, her voice is a lower pitch. Can you please ask again if there is someone this time on the south side and on the north side...can I hear the female voice? You ask in either direction...nothing. ...and throw some mud on these sides please It's just a thin layer of dirt on the floor, but you scrape up a bit and throw some to the north, and some to the south. There are soft floofs as they land on the floor.

Can I reach the ceiling? You stretch as high as you can, but can't feel anything. If so please touch all around...does something happen?

Please, explore more north and south You slowly, carefully make your way north, and walk several paces before your right foot hits something soft. You bend down and--ew--there's a giant mound of dirt in the northeast corner of the room. Next to them, on the east wall, you feel a door and a small switch. Turning around, your thigh bangs into something else--there's a small table on this end of the room as well. You walk to the southern end of the room and feel on your left that piece of furniture you touched before; it is indeed a large shelving unit. And in the southwest corner there is another big pile where dirt has collected. No one's done housekeeping in quite a while.
...what about west? You walk along the western wall--you feel the sewer plate you came in through underfoot. Otherwise you encounter nothing.

Piece of furniture or shelving made of wood --> is there something on it? Yes, you feel the rounded ends of a lot of bottles. Are the glass empty? You pick a bottle up. It feels like it's full of liquid. Relevant how many they are? You have no idea what's relevant, but there's a ton of bottles--you feel six shelves that are all packed full. Do they contain something? A liquid? Yep. If they are not useful put inside the bag...maybe they will be later on? You can't put a hundred or so bottles in your little backpack...maybe one or two. But which?

Can I identify from which side the voice came from (north,east, south or west?) No, it was just a very brief impression of a voice. Maybe you were hearing things. Maybe I can go that direction...


trebor

Is our student ID for a post-secondary institution? High school? It's from when you went to college for a couple semesters. That was before you realized your true life's work was seeking relics and treasure hoards. What have we been studying there? Oh, you know, getting the gen ed stuff out of the way...you took some psychology classes but never declared a major...

Being careful not to cut yourself, can you examine the furniture you bumped into and its contents? Is it a shelf? It's half a dozen shelves stocked with many, many bottles of something. Or a lamp? Unfortunately, no. Are you able to tell what you broke? Did you break a light fixture? Reaching carefully down, you feel thick, curved pieces of broken glass with liquid on them. You would guess that you probably knocked off one of the bottles.
Once you've completed your examination of that can you proceed south of whatever you bumped into, checking for a light switch or dangly chain or some other light source? You head south again--and immediately hit a wall. The edge of the shelving is right up against the south wall of the room. No switches or chains here, but there is a door on this wall.

[Earnest]

so pile of dirt in north; east a switch and a door and a table; southwest again dirt and south shelves with bottles right?

Can we turn the switch on? Is there light? Does the door open? If the latter, can we exploit the light coming from the other side and see the bottles? What is the liquid? What is written on them? If you feel like they are useful take two of them....ok maybe I need to think more about that

[Acridian9]

In case we get some light, this is what I would like you to do:
- look around and give a description of the objects in the room we don't yet know
- look at the floor to see if there are footprints or other traces
- get one of the broken glasses and smell it. Is it wine?
- examine both piles of dirt (and please find a +2 Sword of Power!! )
- try both doors to see if they are locked. If you can open one, then open it just a little to see what's beyond

[irishelk]

Earnest

so pile of dirt in north; east a switch and a door and a table; southwest again dirt and south shelves with bottles right? All this is correct. I had the table in the center of the north end of the room, but it makes no difference.

Can we turn the switch on? You do. Is there light? You hear an encouraging electric hum run through the walls. After a moment, you see two small lines of yellow light near the floor--there is light coming from under both of the doors. Unfortunately, it's not enough to see anything but the dirty, disgusting floor. Does the door open? I presume you mean the one next to the switch? (There's also a door on the south wall.) You find the handle and rattle it. Locked.If the latter, can we exploit the light coming from the other side and see the bottles?
What is the liquid? How do you want to determine that? What is written on them? Still not enough light to see the shelves. If you feel like they are useful take two of them....ok maybe I need to think more about that. You'll have to tell me if they're useful--and which of them to take


Acridian9

In case we get some light, this is what I would like you to do:
- look around and give a description of the objects in the room we don't yet know
- look at the floor to see if there are footprints or other traces Still scary and dark.
- get one of the broken glasses and smell it. Is it wine? That you can do. You carefully pick up a piece of glass and sniff. Yep, getting a real wine-y aroma off that. A definite bouquet of fermented grapes. With your refined palate, you'd say it's either red wine, or white wine...possibly rose.

- examine both piles of dirt (and please find a +2 Sword of Power!! ) Oh yeah, no...uh, no problem...*hesitates, shaking*...
Okay, time to confess something to yourself. You're an inveterate germophobe, and maybe a touch obsessive over cleanliness. Under normal circumstances, you don't mess with anything dirty, smelly, gloopy or gross. Just the idea of plunging your hands blindly into those piles of dirt makes you break out in a cold sweat. What if there's...BUGS?!
Maybe, MAYBE if you could see what you were doing, it'd be tolerable.

- try both doors to see if they are locked. If you can open one, then open it just a little to see what's beyond. The door on the east wall is firmly locked. You follow the thin band of light back to the southern door--it's open! You peek inside: finally, some light! Though it's from an old, dim bulb, you can see it's a bathroom. There is a sink just east of the door, and a bathtub on the opposite side of the room.

[Acridian9]

Let's explore the bathroom!
Are the taps working? Can we get water? Is there a switch?

I presume the dim light is not enough for you to see something in the cellar.
What clould be tried is to remove the dim bulb and plug it somewhere in the cellar. You could use the table, say in the middle of the room, to reach for a light fixture. Evaluate if this is possible.
Btw, is there something on the table?

You could also get a bottle and examine it under the dim light.

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Let's explore the bathroom! Woohoo!
Are the taps working? Can we get water? You try turning on the faucet taps--nothing. Of course, that would be too simple. Um...there is a gun on the counter here. Just...seems like an odd place for a gun, thought I'd mention it. Is there a switch? Not in this room, no. There are six pipes going from floor to ceiling on the western wall, but it doesn't look like there's any way to manipulate them.
Also, something in here smells terrible.

I presume the dim light is not enough for you to see something in the cellar. Actually, enough light is going back into the cellar for you to see the wine rack, and the dirt pile in the southwest corner. Everything else is still in shadow.
What could be tried is to remove the dim bulb and plug it somewhere in the cellar. You could use the table, say in the middle of the room, to reach for a light fixture. Evaluate if this is possible. You leave the bulb on for now for the tiny bit of light it affords, and go back to the table. You stand up on it, and you can reach the ceiling, but you don't feel any light fixture. You can't see one on any visible part of the ceiling.
Btw, is there something on the table? There is. As you climb up, you knock over something small and metallic. You touch it hesitantly. It's a tall, thin candle in a metal holder.

You could also get a bottle and examine it under the dim light. You grab a bottle at random and hold it up to the light. Thornefoot Manor Grand Cru, the label reads, and there's a picture of a large house with two stories and a tower. The vintage is 1910. This one is a merlot.

[Acridian9]

Examine the gun. is it real? is it loaded? or is it a lighter?

Examine the candle too. Is the bulb hot enough to light the candle? Any other source of heat in the rooms?

Take another look at the shelf: only bottles there?
Take a look also at the visible dirt pile. Maybe use the gun to search in it.

[Earnest]

thinking...maybe alchol can be used to burn something?! We need something to light up the candle!...also...did someone produced the wine and bring it there?!...mmm...further, we can presume that we turned on the light on the other two rooms, the bathroom and the other locked room from the room where we find ourselves. Maybe there is a switch on the other rooms able to turn the light on our room or the bulb in our room is simoly broken...

Is there any switch in the bathroom? If so, please turn it on. Any bullet in around? If so, used bullets (as if someone shot with the gun...if so maybe there is also some gunpowder...would it be safe to light up a wintergreen lifesaver on it?... )? Unused ones? Put them in your bag please.

Please read the story on the bottles of wine.
Any opening in the bathroom? Can we follow the pipes and see where in the ceiling they end up? Anything relevant? Is the bulb hot?

If the gun is a lighter please turn the candle on and explore the room. If it is a real gun that can be used, maybe we can try to shot toward the locked door and use the hit produced by the gun to light up the candle.

or maybe we could try something with the powder...what do you think Acridian?

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Examine the gun. is it real? Oh yeah. I mean, you're not a gun...expert...person, but it looks and feels really real. is it loaded? After some embarrassing fumbling, you spin the barrel, put it back together, and pull the trigger a few times. Nope, not loaded. or is it a lighter? No, but that would be a lot more helpful!

Examine the candle too. It's a long, slender white candle in a light metal holder. Is the bulb hot enough to light the candle? You hold it up there for a few minutes, but nothing happens. Any other source of heat in the rooms? Hopefully, but none that you've encountered yet.

Take another look at the shelf: only bottles there? Yep, just chock-full of wine.
Take a look also at the visible dirt pile. ...yeah, I guess it's come down to that, hasn't it? Icky...
Maybe use the gun to search in it. Oh, great idea! You use the barrel to sift around through the dirt. almost immediately, you find a piece of paper with INSTRUCTIONS scrawled across the top in messy handwriting. You dig through all the way to the floor, and right at the bottom is a box of matches.


Earnest

Is there any switch in the bathroom? Nope. If so, please turn it on. Any bullet in around? If so, used bullets (as if someone shot with the gun...if so maybe there is also some gunpowder...would it be safe to light up a wintergreen lifesaver on it?... )? Unused ones? Put them in your bag please. You haven't seen any.

Please read the story on the bottles of wine. It doesn't say anything else on the bottles. You pick up a few more--different varieties and vintages, but all "Thornefoot Manor," all around a hundred years old.
Any opening in the bathroom? There's the door you came in...then there's the faucet and drain in the sink, but you're too big to fit through those. =) Presumably there's also a faucet and drain in the bathtub.
Can we follow the pipes and see where in the ceiling they end up? They run right along the west wall, going through openings in the floor and ceiling. Anything relevant? You have no idea what's relevant. Is the bulb hot? Regular lightbulb temperature, yeah.

If the gun is a lighter please turn the candle on and explore the room. If it is a real gun that can be used, maybe we can try to shot toward the locked door and use the hit produced by the gun to light up the candle. Alas, no lighter and no bullets.

And double alas, I will be out of town for the next week so my responses will be delayed. Sorry to leave you in the mudroom, but at least there's some light! And at least you haven't looked in the bathtub yet...

[Acridian9]

Ok, so when you have time:

- light the candle
- examine the part of the cellar we couldn't see before (don't forget the other dirt pile !)
- read Keen instrucitions
- and ................. examine the buthtub!!!!

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Back!

- light the candle Done! A warm, fairly strong glow suffuses the north side of the mudroom.
- examine the part of the cellar we couldn't see before (don't forget the other dirt pile !) You can now clearly see the table (which is empty now that you are holding the candle), the locked door and light switch on the east wall, and the mound of dirt in the northeast corner. With better lighting, you now see little rivulet patterns in the dirt on the floor. Maybe some water flowed through this room at some point, and that's why most of the dirt got piled up in the two corners.

You poke around hesitantly in the second dirt pile. First you find another long tallow candle, identical to the first one. Near the bottom is a heavy brass key.

- read Keen instructions Written messily on the piece of paper is the following:

INSTRUCTIONS
(for dealing with ghosts)

1) Ghosts usually don’t make a whole lot of sense, but they can never lie. Except the bad one. But you probably won’t meet him.

2) Three can get you up and down. Unless it’s life or death—then you need four.

3) To summon—first, find or make yourself a decent altar.
You need to lay three things on the altar: something they wore, something they hid, and something they were killed with.
Then you need to say their first name, how they died, and who killed them.


- and ................. examine the buthtub!!!! You hate to admit it, but that's where the unpleasant musty smell is coming from. You inch closer and closer to the bathtub, peek in--and fall on your butt, scrambling backward to scrunch against the opposite tile wall of the bathroom.
There's a skeleton in there. Not a Halloween decoration, definitely a real dead guy or girl, nothing left of them but grayish bones. You are abruptly cured of all desire to go treasure hunting, but...dang it, you're probably going to have to go take a closer look, aren't you?

[Acridian9]

We definitely need a closer look, yes.
In particular, try to see if we can assess how they died, (like if they were shot, a hole in the skull maybe...)
Also look for something to identify them and for something they wore. Look under the skeleton too.

Finally, see if the brass key unlocks the closed door. If it does, open the door a little and take a look at the new room.

[irishelk]

Acridian9

We definitely need a closer look, yes. Damn your curiosity!
In particular, try to see if we can assess how they died, (like if they were shot, a hole in the skull maybe...) You reluctantly look up, down, and all around the skeleton. It is lying with its skull almost at the bottom of the bathtub, and the legs bunched up at the other end. There are no holes or major trauma that you can see. There is a tiny crack in the skull where it touches the porcelain. The little bone in the front of the neck is also broken--the Adam's Apple bone?--which you remember from Law & Order reruns means...something, but you can't quite remember what.

Also look for something to identify them and for something they wore. There are little bits of cloth at the bottom of the tub, which you assume were probably clothes before they rotted away. The only thing left is an expensive-looking necktie, which was made of such synthetic materials that it is still in good condition. No other identifying items up top, but see below...

Look under the skeleton too. Ewwwww...gross, icky...you make a lot of embarrassing noises as you somehow manage to turn the skeleton over while barely touching it. More scraps of what you presume was once clothing, and a small leather commonplace book with a gold B embossed on the cover--a bit water-damaged but fairly intact.

Finally, see if the brass key unlocks the closed door. It does!
If it does, open the door a little and take a look at the new room. You look into a long Hall that runs north to south. The door you peek out of is the only one on the western wall. There are two separate doors opposite, on the east wall, that probably swing open into two rooms. To your left (north) is a door with a very dirty window that seems to let a tiny bit of sunlight in. To your right (south) is a grand staircase leading to a second level.

[trebor]

A hyoid bone fracture! Which is a pretty common sign of strangulation.

Just for clarification, by bottom of the tub do you mean the non-faucet end? The faucet end? On the floor of it, where it would be submerged if there were water?

Let’s pick up the tie and scraps of clothing for the altar we’ll make. And open the book and thumb through it for any writings or clues. Possibly an inscription?

[Acridian9]

Also, explore the hall, in particular if there are any objects (if so examine them). Check also if the doors are locked.

One more thing: by the position of the necktie w.r.t. the skeleton, is it more likely that the victim wore it, or that it was used to strangle them?

[Earnest]

Something they wore, something they hid, and something they were killed with. 
Then you need to say their first name, how they died, and who killed them
So I guess the intention of anyone of us is to wake up the ghost of the person having the encountered skeleton...we have something he wore. Something with which he/she was killed (we can try necklace and gun)...maybe the book was the something he/she was hiding...(can we figure out if he/she ate something? E.g. an object "inside the skeleton"). We are left with his/her (actually can we figure out the gender?) name and the name of the murderer...two names...are there writings on the wall? Can we find any clue inside the book? Any name on the neckalce? Any personal belonging? Anything inside the book? Is the book maybe a diary?

[irishelk]

trebor

A hyoid bone fracture! Which is a pretty common sign of strangulation. That's the one.

Just for clarification, by bottom of the tub do you mean the non-faucet end? The faucet end? On the floor of it, where it would be submerged if there were water? I just meant the floor, but his head is at the non-faucet end and his feet are under the faucet.

Let’s pick up the tie and scraps of clothing for the altar we’ll make. Tie taken. The scraps sort of crumble when you try to grab them. And open the book and thumb through it for any writings or clues. Possibly an inscription? Most of the commonplace book is so water damaged that it is illegible. From the ink stains, it appears that there was a significant amount of writing in the first half of the pages, and the second half were not yet touched. Right in the middle, there are two pages that seem relatively undamaged. The first one says:

25 Oct. 1998 – Allie keeps snooping around to find my grandmother’s emerald necklace. Of course I’m going to give it to her at the reception, but she mustn’t find before. Too fun to keep her in suspense. Can’t wait to see her face. Must find better hiding place for it.

The second page:

31 Oct. 1998 –Entered Manor 6:30 PM. Do not intend to search all night. I have department party this evening—we must show our faces. Then A wants to go into town.
7:05 PM – found clever little lock system in the Manor. Very secure. Will leave necklace here until wedding day—then simply FACE THE MUSIC. Don’t forget it’s here!

7:45 – My face is burning red with fury. This betrayal will not stand.


Acridian9

Also, explore the hall, in particular if there are any objects (if so examine them). Check also if the doors are locked. All three other doors are open--the two on the east don't even have locks, they just swing. The door with the window has a handle lock, but you can turn it open or locked.

One more thing: by the position of the necktie w.r.t. the skeleton, is it more likely that the victim wore it, or that it was used to strangle them? It seems to be in normal tie position, and it is not tight around the vertebrae of the neck--in fact, it makes a pretty wide circle. So without knowing for sure, you'd guess it was not so tight that he could not breathe.


Earnest

can we figure out if he/she ate something? E.g. an object "inside the skeleton"). Nothing else in the tub that you can see. We are left with his/her (actually can we figure out the gender? You know there's a way to determine that, but you're no...bone...scientist...person.)
name and the name of the murderer...two names...are there writings on the wall? Nope. Can we find any clue inside the book? Yep, see above.
Any name on the neckalce? On the necktie? Yes, actually there is some writing on a label on the back! You bring it to your eyes and strain to see in the dim bathroom light...oh. "Made in China, Machine Wash Cold."
Any personal belonging? Anything inside the book? Is the book maybe a diary? Yes, see above.

[Earnest]

The first one says:

25 Oct. 1998 – Allie keeps snooping around to find my grandmother’s emerald necklace. Of course I’m going to give it to her at the reception, but she mustn’t find before. Too fun to keep her in suspense. Can’t wait to see her face. Must find better hiding place for it.

The second page:

31 Oct. 1998 –Entered Manor 6:30 PM. Do not intend to search all night. I have department party this evening—we must show our faces. Then A wants to go into town. 
7:05 PM – found clever little lock system in the Manor. Very secure. Will leave necklace here until wedding day—then simply FACE THE MUSIC. Don’t forget it’s here!

7:45 – My face is burning red with fury. This betrayal will not stand.

First...hope this is not any sort of coding message...is the skeleton the author of the diary? Is B the initial of his/her name? Maybe if the second half is untouched, we can deduce that the skeleton's last message was the one at 7:45... it seemes moreover that the author of the diary was free to leave and enter Manor. Curious: 31 is Halloween...any connection?!

Why did he/she want to hide the necklace to Allie?...maybe he/she used it to kill people? Or he/she betrayed her with someone else?
"we must show our faces" = simply a metaphor? Something else very creepy? Any connection with masks and Halloween?!

We found him/her death in Manor. Did someone out the diary there? Was it his own diary? If he/she was killed, more than a person had access to Manor...is the killer still here?...


Can we explore what's behind the doors? Explore...did you find a necklace?...any little lock?
are some pages missing from what you can see? Any page enumeration? Any mask around the place? Any trace (different from yours) on the ground?
I notice we did not mention shoes? Are there any shoes among clothing? I cannot imagine he/she went barefoot in Manor...if shoes are present, anything inside them? Can you describe them please?


I just meant the floor, but his head is at the non-faucet end and his feet are under the faucet. --> ok this is maybe speculation...since the head is on the non faucet end, he/she was not taking a shower or having a bath. Therefore, since he/she was killed maybe he/she was hiding or someone put him/her in that position. Since a body is very heavy it is possible that the murderer is a man. (Just speculation). Which however, does not explain the presence of the tie and the mention of Allie...

[Acridian9]

ok this is maybe speculation...since the head is on the non faucet end, he/she was not taking a shower or having a bath....

Well....taking a shower or having a bath **with your clothes on**? Including a necktie? It doesn't seam feasible.

[trebor]

Isn't having your head at the non-faucet end the normal way to have a bath? I don't think I know of anyone who puts their head right by the taps.

Can we check the bathtub for anything that appears to have been left behind by whoever placed the body there? A bit of clothing snagged on the faucet, for instance?

Can we go to the hallway that the door we just unlocked opens onto, and open both doors on the opposite wall? Perhaps we should also have the gun at the ready just in case. Is it loaded?

[Earnest]

Isn't having your head at the non-faucet end the normal way to have a bath? I don't think I know of anyone who puts their head right by the taps.

Sorry I misinterpreted the word faucet

[irishelk]

Earnest

Can we explore what's behind the doors? Explore Not sure which you mean? If the two on the east end of the hall, see trebor's questions below....did you find a necklace?...any little lock? $p0i1er alert: no. =)

are some pages missing from what you can see? No torn edges, no. Any page enumeration? Any mask around the place? No to these. Any trace (different from yours) on the ground? The floor around the tub is a little scuffed and dirty, but the rest of the floor is pretty clean, no tracks. However, you can faintly see footprints in the dirt right before the entrance to the bathroom. Two pairs of feet walking in...one of them coming out.
I notice we did not mention shoes? Are there any shoes among clothing? I cannot imagine he/she went barefoot in Manor...if shoes are present, anything inside them? Can you describe them please? No shoes, but around the foot area there are some decaying scraps that might have once been leather.


trebor

Can we check the bathtub for anything that appears to have been left behind by whoever placed the body there? A bit of clothing snagged on the faucet, for instance? You find nothing further in or around the tub,

Can we go to the hallway that the door we just unlocked opens onto, and open both doors on the opposite wall? Perhaps we should also have the gun at the ready just in case. Is it loaded? You certainly can. You hold the gun at the ready. It isn't loaded, but it still makes you feel kinda cool and tough.

You cautiously push open the door on the right (more south) opens into what might be a Dining Room. Oddly for a home of this era, though, there are no cabinets or decor or sideboard, just a big, oval wooden table in the middle. There is one chair pulled up to the table, and an empty glass in front of it. Something light and foggy shimmers above the chair.
Beside the doorway you are peering in from, there is a door on the south wall of the Dining Room.

You move on to the door on the left in the Hall (more north). You think this would be called a Conservatory. On the north wall is one dirty window; other than the one on the third door in the Hall, it's the only window you've seen. There are a couple of musical stands, and sheet music all over. Watercolors of various instruments decorate the walls. On the south wall is a Victrola record player. In the northeast corner is a tiny grand piano, like an extravagant child's toy.

[Acridian9]

While we are in the Conservatory, let's look for the necklace!

Examine the record player and the piano, see under and behind them, see if you can open them. Try all piano keys: if some don't work the necklace may be jammed in the strings. Try to switch the player on.

Examine the musical stands and music sheets. Are you able to read music? If so play what's on the sheets on the piano.

Also, Take a look from the window, and try to open it.

[Earnest]

Remembering the diary words "then, simply FACE THE MUSIC"...Other suspect...what if the necklace has been "broken into several pieces?..."
Empty glass --> high volume --> broken glass ???

Any LP or something than the record player can play? If it can be played, does it sound like music (if so, and if you can read music, please see if what you hear coincides with the written notes...is there something missing? Something wrong? Do you know the song you are hearing? Is it complete?) Words? Necklace in the shaped tonearm ? Examine the detachable shell...does it seem precious?

Let's move to the Dining Room. Light and foggy something...does it resemble a flickering flame? Have you got the candle with you (if not please take it)? Can you see what is the something? Carefully push the chair aside the table...what is the object? Examine the empty glass --> something in inside? Maybe wine residuals?
Is the door on the south wall of the Dining Room locked? If not, carefully enter and explore...

[irishelk]

Acridian9

While we are in the Conservatory, let's look for the necklace! Examine the record player and the piano, see under and behind them, see if you can open them. The record player is a wooden cabinet that with a hinged lid that opens to reveal a turntable. You can open the front to see the amplifying horn. You believe that these are from the very early 1900s; this one is in excellent shape. There is nothing under it; behind it is a single record.
The piano is shaped like a classic black grand, complete with lifted lid to reveal the soundboard--but it is tiny, less than two feet high. There are only eight keys. There is a small crank handle on the left side of the keyboard. There is nothing under or behind it.
Try all piano keys: if some don't work the necklace may be jammed in the strings. It plays a standard scale. You can see the strings, and the hammer hits them normally, seemingly nothing odd.

Try to switch the player on. Incredibly, it works! The empty turntable spins around--a bit wobbly, but serviceable.

Examine the musical stands and music sheets. They look very much like standard, average, boring music stands and sheets. Almost like some world-builder put them here to add to the ambiance, without meaning you to look too closely at them. Are you able to read music? You don't mean to brag, but first-chair bassoonist all the way through middle school. Also the only bassoonist in middle school, but... If so play what's on the sheets on the piano. Uh-oh, this isn't alto clef...
It's difficult with only eight keys--you can't really harmonize, and without perfect pitch you're not really sure what the starting note of this keyboard is. But you pick a Mozart piece and are able to plink out the melody fairly well.

Also, Take a look from the window, and try to open it. You look out, although the outside of the window is too dirty to see clearly. It does look outside--you can see some untended grass, and a tree immediately in front of you (it doesn't seem to be doing very well). Beyond it is some type of statue, and then a brick wall. That's all you can make out.


Earnest

Any LP or something than the record player can play? Yes, there's one LP behind the player. If it can be played, does it sound like music (if so, and if you can read music, please see if what you hear coincides with the written notes...is there something missing? Something wrong? Do you know the song you are hearing? Is it complete?) Words? Well, there's a title on the center of the record--"W.C. Handy ~~ St. Louis Blues." What comes out sounds like it should be a mellow, laid-back horn piece, very pretty. But echoing throughout the lonely dark house...with the occasional skip or wobble from the ancient machine...somehow it makes you shiver.
All the sheet music looks like Classical and Romantic era composers, no jazz/blues that you can see.
Necklace in the shaped tonearm ? Examine the detachable shell...does it seem precious? You don't see any necklace in the inner workings, or anything other than record parts.
On this particular model, the horn is built into the interior and can't be easily detached.

Let's move to the Dining Room. Let's!
Light and foggy something...does it resemble a flickering flame? As long as you remain in the doorway, it appears like a small gray/white cloud, but somehow a little...sparkly? Have you got the candle with you (if not please take it)? You run back to the mudroom, grab both candles, matches and the holder and stick them in your backpack.
Can you see what is the something? You re-enter the dining room, stepping in a little further this time. As soon as your foot falls inside, the fog starts changing shape, and suddenly it has resolved itself into the shape of a woman, sitting in (or maybe hovering above) the chair! She is the same shimmering gray-white that the little cloud was. Carefully push the chair aside the table...what is the object? She observes you with a look of perplexity and some amusement as you push the chair that she is sitting on. She is weightless. Examine the empty glass --> something in inside? Maybe wine residuals? It is a clear crystal, stemmed wine glass, completely empty.

Is the door on the south wall of the Dining Room locked? Nope, another one that swings open. If not, carefully enter and explore... Looks like you are in a very old-fashioned kitchen--we're talking icebox-rather-than-refrigerator old. Across the east wall is an extensive spice rack. In the center of the room is a table with a knife on it. In the southwest corner is a washing tub and washboard, with a tall stack of folded laundry beside them.
Besides the door you came in from, there is a door on the west wall.

[Balin]

I think we need to play the notes F-A-C-E on the piano, but you said we don't have the notes for the eight keys. It'd probably be easy enough to try all the possibilities for those notes, but spooky manors tend to have traps, so I'd say hold off on the guess-and-check method for now.

Try speaking to the shape of the woman - just say "hello" for now.

[Earnest]

For a sake of proficiency I would not explore further the Conservatory, which I leave to you Acridian and Balin ok?

Is the woman a ghost? Ok...I would have a cruel test which involves shooting her on a leg...but...maybe a fairly simpler one is: please take the knife (Is the knife clean? Blood on it?) in the kitchen and ask her to shoot up her finger. Does blood come out?
Please take a knife (as it could be a weapon with which someone has been killed) and some laundry.

Since the instructions spoke about an "him" when talking about the ghost who lies, I will assume that, if she is a ghost, she tells the truth. Please ask the woman if her name is Allie and if she knows the skeleton. If she is a ghost ask her if someone else has already made an Altair to invoke her. who was? How can we invoke the skeleton's ghost? Have you seen a necklace? Can you play music?

If she is not a ghost --> how long have you been in Manor? Do you know the skeleton? What is your name? Can you please tell me your story? again...another cruel proposition assuming she was telling the truth on her name: if we do not trust her, we could simply kill her with the gun and make an altair since we know her first name, our name, we have something she wore, something she was killed with, how she died...what is left if she hid something...

Enter the west door of the kitchen (always please xD)

[trebor]

Did the woman move in the chair when we pushed it? Did the chair pass through her?

WC Handy, eh? If you don't mind the extra walking, can you go back to the bathtub and check the hands of the skeleton for anything we missed before? And then rush back to the Dining Room and examine the hands of the apparition? Can you ask her if she was part of a love triangle while she was alive? If she was, was she the jilted one? And what were the names of the other people? Does she know who "B" might be, from the book we found? And what can she tell us about the inhabitants of the manor, and its staff?

To the Conservatory now. Does the piano have black and white keys? If you could describe the pattern of keys starting with the lowest we could figure out what keys they are easily.

[Acridian9]

Oh....and while in the kitchen, don't forget to closely and thoroughly examine all objects: rack, table, washing tub, washboard, and stack of folded laundry.

[irishelk]

Ooh, look at all the moves!

Balin

Try speaking to the shape of the woman - just say "hello" for now. She nods with a small, enigmatic smile, and speaks in a voice that seems to come from a long distance and echo all around the room. "Are you the one who turned the music on? Lovely--it's been so long since I've heard music play in these rooms." Her hand, though it looks insubstantial, lifts the empty glass and seems to play with it.


Earnest

Is the woman a ghost? Ok...I would have a cruel test which involves shooting her on a leg Would be difficult without some bullets. ...but...maybe a fairly simpler one is: please take the knife (Is the knife clean? Blood on it?) When you look closer at the knife, there is quite a bit of blood on it. You pick it up. in the kitchen and ask her to shoot up her finger. Does blood come out? She stares at you like you're a crazy person. "Why would I cut my own finger?"
Please take a knife (as it could be a weapon with which someone has been killed) Okay. and some laundry. There's a huge stack of laundry and you have one little backpack. Plus, you're not super-enthusiastic about rifling through old dead people's clothes. Care to be more specific?

Since the instructions spoke about an "him" when talking about the ghost who lies, I will assume that, if she is a ghost, she tells the truth. Please ask the woman if her name is Allie and if she knows the skeleton. If she is a ghost ask her if someone else has already made an Altair to invoke her. who was? How can we invoke the skeleton's ghost? Have you seen a necklace? Can you play music? She listens to all your questions in calm silence, then glances down at the glass with a wry smile. "You know, I'd love to help, but I'm afraid I'm just too parched to speak right now..."

If she is not a ghost --> how long have you been in Manor? Do you know the skeleton? What is your name? Can you please tell me your story? She coughs, perhaps a bit theatrically, and jiggles the wine glass.

Enter the west door of the kitchen (always please xD) Okay, since you said please :
You enter a small room, dimly lit with one light bulb. The ceiling slopes up from north to south, and you realize this must be a Closet under the staircase. Directly across from you on the west wall are six pipes coming into the room from the right (north). It looks like there is some rubbish on the floor.


trebor

Did the woman move in the chair when we pushed it? Kind of. She floats about an inch above the seat, but she moves more or less with it. Did the chair pass through her? No--but now you see her idly swiping her fingers through the solid table as she waits. You presume it is something she can control.

WC Handy, eh? If you don't mind the extra walking, can you go back to the bathtub and check the hands of the skeleton for anything we missed before? No problem, but nothing there except gross little finger bones. And then rush back to the Dining Room and examine the hands of the apparition? They are slender, elegant, and seem to be made of an ephemeral cloud-like substance. Can you ask her if she was part of a love triangle while she was alive? If she was, was she the jilted one? And what were the names of the other people? Does she know who "B" might be, from the book we found? And what can she tell us about the inhabitants of the manor, and its staff? She sets the wine glass meaningfully in front of her, meets your eyes, and blinks.

To the Conservatory now. Does the piano have black and white keys? If you could describe the pattern of keys starting with the lowest we could figure out what keys they are easily. Actually, it does not. There are just eight white, probably ivory keys. But they do play some major scale.


Acridian9

Oh....and while in the kitchen, don't forget to closely and thoroughly examine all objects: rack, This spice rack comprises three shelves spanning half the wall, and seems to have every flavoring you could think of, from salt and pepper to saffron and crystallized ginger.
table, A heavy wooden kitchen counter in the middle of the floor. Nothing on it now.
washing tub, washboard, Just your standard old-timey laundry-doing equipment. There is no water or soap in the tub.
and stack of folded laundry. There are probably over a hundred articles of clothing here. Blouses in many colors, skirts, jeans, suits, dress pants, dresses, lacy undergarments...most seem old-fashioned, but like things a "modern" person in the olden days would wear. It's hard to tell with some of the separates, but it might be all women's clothing.

[Earnest]

Please take a bottle of wine in the other room and ask her if she wants to drinkbit with you. Then drink a little of it from the bottle.
Tell her that now you are no more pearched. Ask her the same questions as before please.

[Acridian9]

Hem,.... before asking Earnest questions, please serve her some wine!!

If the piano plays a mjaor scale, that's should be a C scale. So try to play F A C E supposing the first key is a C.
Of cousre, there should be two C keys: try both combinations (4 6 1 3 and 4 6 8 3)

[irishelk]

Earnest

Please take a bottle of wine in the other room and ask her if she wants to drinkbit with you. Then drink a little of it from the bottle.
Tell her that now you are no more pearched. Ask her the same questions as before please. You run back to the mudroom, look at the shelf, and are paralyzed by the array of choices. There are wines of almost every variety you've heard of, and some you haven't. What do you take?


Acridian9

Hem,.... before asking Earnest questions, please serve her some wine!! Which one?!

If the piano plays a mjaor scale, that's should be a C scale. So try to play F A C E supposing the first key is a C.
Of cousre, there should be two C keys: try both combinations (4 6 1 3 and 4 6 8 3)
You play the first, sixth, first and third notes. Immediately, you hear a pop and the bottom panel of the piano swings open. On the floor underneath it is a necklace. Silver settings hold an array of pale green stones in an elaborate, turn-of-the-century pattern. There must have been a false bottom in the piano that kept it hidden.

[Earnest]

Oh well of course I would choose two bottles: the best one I know and worst one. Then I will serve her the best one and drink the worst one from the bottle (just in case someone was so smart to have poisoned the best wine in the mudroom). White wine possibly just hoping to avoid in this way all kinds of "colored venoms
Then please repeat the actions of my previous post

[Acridian9]

Can we ask the ghost which wine does she prefer?

Also, in the Closet under the staircase... are the six pipes presumally the same as those in the bathroom? (these are horizontal, right?). Examine them, as well as the rubbish on the floor

[trebor]

Just a stab in the dark, but perhaps since she is a shimmering, sparkly spectre she would like a glass of sparkling wine? Is there a bottle on the rack fitting that description?

Can you also please examine the watercolours on the walls of the Conservatory?

[irishelk]

Earnest

Oh well of course I would choose two bottles: the best one I know and worst one. You have never tasted any of these wines. You have heard of the varieties (chardonnay, pinot noir, etc.), but you don't know if they are good or bad. Then I will serve her the best one and drink the worst one from the bottle (just in case someone was so smart to have poisoned the best wine in the mudroom). White wine possibly just hoping to avoid in this way all kinds of "colored venoms
Then please repeat the actions of my previous post


Acridian9

Can we ask the ghost which wine does she prefer? Great idea. She thinks for a minute and says, "Any white wine will do. Thank you."

Also, in the Closet under the staircase... are the six pipes presumally the same as those in the bathroom? (these are horizontal, right?). The ones in the bathroom were vertical, but these are coming from that direction so you imagine they are the same. They look the same--old and tarnished. Examine them, The pipes come out of the corner, are visible running about halfway across the room, and then turn and disappear into the west wall. At this bend, each of the six pipes has a switch on it--a sort of valve that can be turned up or down. Right now they are all flipped down.
as well as the rubbish on the floor You pick up a crumpled up wad of paper. It's part of a newspaper that has been torn. As you lift it, you spy something underneath, sparkling in the dust. It looks like a ring.


trebor

Just a stab in the dark, but perhaps since she is a shimmering, sparkly spectre she would like a glass of sparkling wine? Is there a bottle on the rack fitting that description? There is a champagne, a prosecco and a moscato. Moscatos are bubbly, right? You're not much of a wine dude. You'd say there's pretty much, like, every kind.

Can you also please examine the watercolours on the walls of the Conservatory? You cross the hall back to the Conservatory. The paintings are of a trumpet, a piano and a cello. Not the most masterful you've ever seen, but certainly better than you could manage.

[Acridian9]

Back to the Closet and examine the paper and the ring. Also, check what's north and west from here to see if we can trace the pipes.

Then go to the cellar, take a white wine, and serve it to the ghost. Then kindly ask her if she would like to answer some questions and, if she agrees, procede with Earnest questions (which I paste down here)

> Please ask the woman if her name is Allie and if she knows the skeleton.
> ask her if someone else has already made an Altair to invoke her. who was (the summoner, I suppose)?
> How can we invoke the skeleton's ghost?
> how long have you been in Manor? What is your name? Can you please tell me your story?

[Earnest]

Don't know if you are able to see the ghost's face, but in that case, before talking to her, look in the newspaper if any picture of her is shown. If not, read what is written. Does it talk about a woman? About ghosts? About a wedding? A ring? Is there a name/dedication on the ring?
When talking to the ghost, please bring the ring with you.

Please also turn the switches of the pipes on once at the time. What happens? Do you see/smell/hear(liquid flowing) something relevant? ( hope they do not slurp the ghost xD)
Does the sink now works? The bathtub? (If so and you have something like the ring dirtied by dust, also wash it please)

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Back to the Closet and examine the paper and the ring. The ring is a thick gold band with three large diamonds embedded in it. From the way the dust is disturbed around it, you would imagine someone standing in the room dropped it at some point.

The paper is part of a newspaper page, with only half of the story there. It is old and yellowed, but still readable. Half of it is taken up by a picture, which is torn in half, of an old and decrepit brick mansion with a tower above the east wing. It might be the house you’re in right now, but you’ve actually never seen it from the outside. The part of the story you have reads:

...storied history of the Manor and its supposed lost gold is probably familiar to the reader. If not, any history book of California will detail the facts and speculation regarding this gold-rush era mansion.

After the Saturday incident, authorities are not yet releasing names of the victims or any potential suspects. The police chief was asked whether one of the young people involved in the search could have been responsible for the deaths; there was no comment. This reporter was able to briefly interview the lone survivor, though she is understandably shaken. She states that she and her unfortunate companions searched the Manor thoroughly, and she is certain now that there is no lost treasure. When asked about the bloodstained shirt that was apparently found at the scene, she gave a cryptic comment: ‘She had to do it. He was out of control.’

This survivor is a—

after this, the rest of the page is torn, but it appears to have been torn off more recently than the other edges.


Also, check what's north and west from here to see if we can trace the pipes. If you sense of direction isn't decieving you (and it never does), to the north would be the bathroom with the skeleton. There is nothing you know of to the west--that's the direction you and Keen tunneled in from outside, so you would imagine this is the western end of the house.

Then go to the cellar, take a white wine, and serve it to the ghost. You stick a pinot grigio in your backpack, lug it over, and pour it in her glass. She smiles, toasts you and takes a tiny sip. Then kindly ask her if she would like to answer some questions and, if she agrees, procede with Earnest questions (which I paste down here)

> Please ask the woman if her name is Allie and if she knows the skeleton.
> ask her if someone else has already made an Altair to invoke her. who was (the summoner, I suppose)?
> How can we invoke the skeleton's ghost?
> how long have you been in Manor? What is your name? Can you please tell me your story?
She listens thoughtfully to your questions, nodding knowingly when you mention the altar and the skeleton. To your last question she says, "My name is Miranda Thornefoot, and this is my home. As for your other questions..." her spectral expression is suddenly troubled, and she swallows some more wine before speaking, lower and in a rush. "You should know that I didn't hurt them, any of them. I tried to help--I did help, didn't I? One of them escaped, didn't she?
"And I wish I could help you now, but...he's watching me. I'm sorry.
"Here's something I can do." She rises and floats without walking over to you. She reaches out a hand--you can feel the air around her is cold--and she touches your backpack. Immediately, the weight of it disappears. You understand that you can now carry as much as you want without it getting too heavy.


Earnest

Don't know if you are able to see the ghost's face, but in that case, before talking to her, look in the newspaper if any picture of her is shown. If not, read what is written. Does it talk about a woman? About ghosts? About a wedding? A ring? See above.
Is there a name/dedication on the ring? There is! An inscription on the inside of the band reads: A, For our engagement, fond regards, B.
Wow, what a romantic.
When talking to the ghost, please bring the ring with you. Okay, it's in your physics-defying backpack.

Please also turn the switches of the pipes on once at the time. You flip each of the switches up, one at a time. What happens? You hear them creak as if some plumbing in the walls is trying hard to work. Otherwise nothing. Do you see/smell/hear(liquid flowing) something relevant? ( hope they do not slurp the ghost xD) Thankfully no. =)
Does the sink now works? The bathtub? (If so and you have something like the ring dirtied by dust, also wash it please) You return to the bathtub and turn the handles. Nothing.

[Acridian9]

Ask Miranda if she has a grandson, and if yes, ask for his name (Brian?). Ask her if she remembers the names of those she helped (Keen, Allie, Brian, Nate, Jack?). Was the one that escaped named Allie? Keen?

Then let's open the main door and explore the garden, expecially the statue. Make sure that we can re-enter the door, maybe put something (a chair? some laundry?) in a way that it can't close (or just jam the knife under it).
Also, if it is possible, go around the house and look for the six pipes.

Finally, it's time to explore the second floor: let's go upstairs.

[Balin]

Try manipulating the watercolors in the conservatory. Can you turn them? Remove them? Touch the canvas? Do any parts of them feel different than the rest?

[Earnest]

Ok assuming the ring belongs to Allie...can you ask her if she recognizes the ring? Ask her "why you cannot tell me more if he is watching you?" She is supposed to tell the truth right? And moreover if she knew about the story in the newspaper ....Do you know Keen? Can we trust her instructions about ghosts?

To be sure...you cannot even arrange a code with the ghost right? Like "if I go to the right direction blink once..."?

Please, can we have a recap on the rooms that are left to explore? If the question is not allowed, please tell the ghost the rooms that we already visited and, since this is her house, ask her if there are other secret/not secret rooms that we missed, please.

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Ask Miranda if she has a grandson, and if yes, ask for his name (Brian?). Ask her if she remembers the names of those she helped (Keen, Allie, Brian, Nate, Jack?). Was the one that escaped named Allie? Keen? She doesn't meet your eyes until you ask if the one that escaped was named Keen. Then she glances up and, although it's hard to tell on the misty ghost, she seems to give a tiny nod.
Then, she swirls the glass in her hand, which you realize is now empty. "You know, I think a red would do nicely now. And could you be a dear and turn off that music? It's suddenly giving me a headache." The record player is indeed still going, though you can barely hear it from in here.

Then let's open the main door and explore the garden, especially the statue. Make sure that we can re-enter the door, maybe put something (a chair? some laundry?) in a way that it can't close (or just jam the knife under it). Done. You put the knife in the doorjamb to keep it ajar.
You enter a small garden, wider than it is long. To the west are a couple flowerbeds, fenced off with a rope strung between posts. The garden might have been well-maintained at some point--now there is rotting, mucky vegetation piled thickly on the ground. A few stakes still peeking up tell you that there used to be a little vineyard there among the flowers.
To the east is a tall tree that looks pretty dead--it has a few long limbs stretching back almost to the ground, with no leaves anywhere. Behind it (further north) is a statue shaped like an angel, its wings and arms outstretched in a half-circle, facing away from you.
Directly to the north in front of you is a very tall concrete wall. It connects to the sides of the house and completely encloses the garden.

Also, if it is possible, go around the house and look for the six pipes. You haven't seen those pipes in any other areas you have explored yet.

Finally, it's time to explore the second floor: let's go upstairs. You ascend the grand staircase. As you reach the top, you have a strange moment of vertigo--you feel dizzy and unbalanced, like you're about to fall back down, even through you're securely holding the handrail. Odd.
A long, blank hallway stretches before you. There are two doors to your left (west), two to your right (east), and one right at the end of the hall (north).


Balin

Try manipulating the watercolors in the conservatory. Can you turn them? Remove them? Touch the canvas? Do any parts of them feel different than the rest? You can touch them, take them off the wall, put them back on...they seem to behave in every way like very normal watercolor paintings.


Earnest

Ok assuming the ring belongs to Allie...can you ask her if she recognizes the ring? Ask her "why you cannot tell me more if he is watching you?" She is supposed to tell the truth right? And moreover if she knew about the story in the newspaper ....Do you know Keen? Can we trust her instructions about ghosts? She listens patiently to all of your questions, but slowly shakes her head, clearly not about to answer. Then she holds up her glass expectantly.

To be sure...you cannot even arrange a code with the ghost right? Like "if I go to the right direction blink once..."? You suggest this to her, and she seems amused by your persistence for a moment...then suddenly sad. It seems like her shimmery form turns a little blue. "I really wish I could give you all the answers--I do. But drawing his attention will hurt you more than it helps."

Please, can we have a recap on the rooms that are left to explore? I can only tell you what you're seeing, and the results of what you do. There are those five doors upstairs...those are the only unexplored spaces you're aware of right now...

If the question is not allowed, please tell the ghost the rooms that we already visited and, since this is her house, ask her if there are other secret/not secret rooms that we missed, please. She is careful to act like she's still listening to you, but you can't miss her subtly nudging her wine glass.

[Acridian9]

When you went back to the ground floor, did you feel the dizzinesss?
Turn the music off, then go out in the garden again. (Just to clear up: the garden extends only to the north of the house, right?)
Take a look at the flowerbeds, and the rope. If the rope is in good condition, take it. Also examine the statue closer: any inscription? Any openings/doors in the concrete wall?

Then let's explore the two west rooms upstairs: when you enter the house, take the knife, then go up the stairs and see if you feel the vertigo again. Try to open both doors, if you can take a look at the rooms and, if safe, enter and describe the rooms.

[irishelk]

((Sorry to slightly delay this one--I'm away from home for the weekend and, hence, away from my maps I'd rather wait than screw something up--back on Monday!))

[Balin]

Return to the cellar, get a red wine, and fill the ghost's glass. Then please re-ask Earnest's questions from above.

[Earnest]

Thinking...maybe the statue is the tombstone for someone... 2) Three can get you up and down. Unless it’s life or death—then you need four.


Please look if any name us written on the statue. Any date? Does it look like a tombstone. Maybe we could dig a bit...Take a flower and bring it to the ghost before talking to her.
Please turn the music off. And also please tell the woman:" oh well I see a garden in your house. I liked it very much. Can you tell me more about it? Do you like gardening?". After she replied, please ask the ghost about the criptic instruction I wrote above.

[irishelk]

Acridian9

When you went back to the ground floor, did you feel the dizzinesss? No, only at the top of the stairs.

Turn the music off, then go out in the garden again. Done. (Just to clear up: the garden extends only to the north of the house, right?) Correct.
Take a look at the flowerbeds, and the rope. The entire garden area is about ten feet square, and completely disgusting. It seems that no one harvested anything, so all the flowers and fruits just rotted on the ground. The rope hangs loosely from posts all around it. There seems to something small and white, out in the middle of the muck. If the rope is in good condition, take it. It is. As you grab it, making sure not to touch any of the grossness--suddenly, you can't breathe. You have a sudden, intense feeling that something is pulled tight around your neck, and you have a vision of a thin red line on pale skin.
Then it's over, and you're holding the rope. Just for the record, this is getting really creepy.

Also examine the statue closer: any inscription? Nothing written on it, but you walk around it for a close look. The angel faces east, and stretches its arms out as if to shelter you. When you look at its feet--well, there's a girl there. You jump back, not expecting anyone to be here, but you suppose after the ghost and the visions you should pretty much expect anything.
She looks frightened and unhappy. She meets your eyes, cries, "He killed him!"...and then vanishes.
Any openings/doors in the concrete wall? No, it's tall and solid. There seems to be some scratches on it, though, right in the middle.

Then let's explore the two west rooms upstairs: when you enter the house, take the knife, then go up the stairs and see if you feel the vertigo again. You do, but this time you expect it, so it's not so bad.
Try to open both doors, if you can take a look at the rooms and, if safe, enter and describe the rooms. You cautiously push open each door, and step inside.
The upstairs west room that's closer to the stairs is a Classroom of some kind. There is no light on in the room, so it's hard to see much, but there seems to be a chalkboard on the west wall, along with what might be a window, but it's completely boarded up. in the northeast corner there are a couple of books on the floor.
The further west room upstairs is a Kid's Bedroom. This one has a dim overhead light. There is a small bed on the north wall and some toy cars in the middle of the floor. That's about it. Depressing.


Balin

Return to the cellar, get a red wine, and fill the ghost's glass. She smiles brightly and takes a sip. Where is the wine going, anyway? Then please re-ask Earnest's questions from above.
As you desperately ask question after question, she flashes you the same sorrowful smile.
"You're going to get me in trouble...but let me see, maybe I can say something without really saying anything, you know?" She looks down and bites her lip, thinking. "I always find it's best to go in a proper order, don't you? And if you're looking for the first one...the first one to go...well, that nasty business went down in the garden. But before you're able to talk to him, I'd recommend looking around--" instead of finishing her thought, she points straight up.


Earnest

Please look if any name us written on the statue. Any date? Does it look like a tombstone. Nothing written on it. Maybe we could dig a bit...Take a flower and bring it to the ghost before talking to her. Uh, not to be uncooperative, but you've dug around in enough dirt for one day. And there is no way in hell you're touching that rotten mess in the flowerbed.

Please turn the music off. And also please tell the woman:" oh well I see a garden in your house. I liked it very much. Can you tell me more about it? Do you like gardening?". After she replied, please ask the ghost about the criptic instruction I wrote above. When you ask her about the garden, she blushes (which for a ghost, apparently, just means she turns a brighter white). "You're very sweet, thank you. I know it's an absolute mess--I can't go out there anymore."
She listens to your question about Keen's note with a thoughtful frown. She's about to answer, but suddenly she looks into the distance, apparently hearing something that is inaudible to you. She suddenly looks horrified. Her hand grabs your arm, and it's like being grabbed by a freezing cold cloud. "I've said too much--he's awake! He's listening now--I have to go." And with that, she's gone.

[Earnest]

So we have a Classroom, music room, bathroom, dining room and garden.. some place for children maybe...suspect...do ghosts vanish according to some criterion? Maybe once they said the truth helping you...

Are there chalks in the room? Is there something written on the chalkboard?
Please examine the books. Please examine the bedroom.

[irishelk]

Earnest

Are there chalks in the room? No, none that you can see. Is there something written on the chalkboard? In fact, there is! It says:
Ai omppih xli qywmg qer.
~Rexi erh Gsfepx
Wow, so helpful.

Please examine the books. Please examine the bedroom. In the Classroom there is a pile of very old picture books--some that teach the names of animals, an alphabet book, some insipid poetry to bore children, and then a book that seems handwritten and hand-bound called For Miranda.
The Bedroom next door has a small, children's bed, and about half a dozen wooden toy cars scattered about the floor.

[Balin]

That's a Caesar cipher. Shift everything back four spaces in the alphabet and it says:

We killed the music man.
-Nate and Cobalt

Go back to where the dining room ghost was, and look up.

[Acridian9]

Try to see if there is a way to turn lights on in the classroom, and if you fail, light up a candle. Then explore the room again: anything we couldn't see before?
Also, take a look at Miranda's book.

In the other room, examine the children's bed and the wooden toys.

Then try to open the eastern doors. If you can, look inside and if safe, explore those rooms.

[Earnest]

can we please take a look at what we have in the bag?

Please take a look also to the other books and to the toys. Any blood trace? Any bookmark? Bent page(s)? Hand written notes? Others?

[trebor]

Was there anything in Miranda's expression or reaction when you asked her the question about Keen's instructions (before she got frightened and vanished) that indicated what her answer was going to be?

Let's examine that book that appears to be for Miranda. Is there anything of note on the outside? Inside? Does it look like there might be any place where something could've been hidden between pages or under the binding? What are the contents of the book? (Perhaps we could go retrieve the knife and use it to prise the cover apart, if absolutely necessary?)

Is there any writing on any of the cars in the bedroom that indicates whose bedroom it was? Anything under the bed? What happens if you call out for Nate, Cobalt, Miranda, or Allie from the bedroom? I'm wondering if the vertigo we experienced may be the result of traveling backward in time.

Next, let's go to the two east doors we haven't yet explored. Are they unlocked? If so, what lies behind them? And the door at the north end of the hall? Let's enter and examine each of those rooms, if we can.

Can we also return to the bathroom and the Conservatory and see if the ghost Miranda heard is present there. Or if the bones in the tub have shifted.

[irishelk]

Balin

That's a Caesar cipher. Dang, I'd set up clues for that one! Well done.

Go back to where the dining room ghost was, and look up. Totally ordinary-looking ceiling.


Acridian9

Try to see if there is a way to turn lights on in the classroom, and if you fail, light up a candle. No light switches that you can see. You light your candle. Then explore the room again: anything we couldn't see before? No, but now you should be able to read the books.
Also, take a look at Miranda's book. The book titled For Miranda has no pictures, only numbers, multiplication tables and some basic geometry figures, all handwritten. But at the end there is a page that says:
Remember, Miranda, they're out to get us. Everyone betrays someone. Trust no one. A = E.

In the other room, examine the children's bed and the wooden toys. The bed is small and without sheets. The mattress is slightly askew.
There are several plain wooden toy cars, with wheels that roll.

Then try to open the eastern doors. If you can, look inside and if safe, explore those rooms.
The eastern door closer to the stairs (more southern) opens into a Library. The east and west walls are covered floor to ceiling with books. To the south, the room turns a corner that you can't see around fully from the doorway, but there seem to be more books back there. To the north is a door, which leads into the same room as the other door in the Hall...
This more northern room is a Master Bedroom. On the southern wall is the door to the Library, and a second door further away that is closed. In the middle of the floor is a large bed. On the east wall is a dresser of clothing. On the north wall is a sliding closet door, open but dark inside.


Earnest

can we please take a look at what we have in the bag? Good idea. You have:

A pencil and paper that you've been keeping notes with...RIGHT?
Your useless, useless student ID
Some Lifesavers candy--wintergreen
A gun with no bullets
Keen's instructions
Two candles, one slightly used, and a candle holder
Matches
A necktie
A commonplace book with B on the cover
An antique emerald necklace
A scrap of newspaper
A diamond ring
A rope
A knife with blood on it.

Please take a look also to the other books and to the toys. Any blood trace? Any bookmark? Bent page(s)? Hand written notes? Others? See descriptions above--no additional marks or bookmarks that you can see.

Sorry, got to run--I'll get to Trebor's questions shortly! And yes, the A=E hint was just for the puzzle that Balin already solved

[Acridian9]

We should actually have the knife with us.

> Then let's explore the two west rooms upstairs: when you enter the house, take the knife, then go up the stairs

[irishelk]

trebor

Was there anything in Miranda's expression or reaction when you asked her the question about Keen's instructions (before she got frightened and vanished) that indicated what her answer was going to be? Well, she did nod when you asked if the one who escaped was named Keen. But no, you didn't get anything in response to asking about the instructions.

Let's examine that book that appears to be for Miranda. Is there anything of note on the outside? Inside? See above. Does it look like there might be any place where something could've been hidden between pages or under the binding? You examine it thoroughly--nothing written on it other than what you've already found.
What are the contents of the book? (Perhaps we could go retrieve the knife and use it to prise the cover apart, if absolutely necessary?) See above.

Is there any writing on any of the cars in the bedroom that indicates whose bedroom it was? No writing on them at all, they're just plain wood.
Anything under the bed? You kneel down, and look under--nothing. What happens if you call out for Nate, Cobalt, Miranda, or Allie from the bedroom? The first three names give you nothing. When you say Allie, though, you see what seems to be the faintest flicker of light near the bed. But almost before you are sure you perceived it, it's gone. I'm wondering if the vertigo we experienced may be the result of traveling backward in time.

Next, let's go to the two east doors we haven't yet explored. Are they unlocked? If so, what lies behind them? See answers above.
And the door at the north end of the hall? Let's enter and examine each of those rooms, if we can. Going through the north door:
You again enter a small room with no lights on and no windows that you can see. As far as you can tell, the room seems largely empty. On the opposite (northernmost) wall, you can just barely see some shelves that suggest it is a Storage Room of sorts. To your left (east) is another door.

Can we also return to the bathroom and the Conservatory and see if the ghost Miranda heard is present there. Or if the bones in the tub have shifted. The conservatory and bathroom downstairs are just as you left them--no ghostly activity that you can perceive.


Acridian9

We should actually have the knife with us.

> Then let's explore the two west rooms upstairs: when you enter the house, take the knife, then go up the stairs Oops, you're right! I'll correct, thank you! And thanks for your patience everyone--weirdly busy week.

[Acridian9]

Let's examine the two beds: anything on/over/under? under the sheets? under the mattresses?

Then pass to the dresser: anything on/over/inside?

Examine the closet too, if neessary light a candle.

Try to open the Master Bedroom's door that is closed. If you can expore the new room.

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Let's examine the two beds: anything on/over/under? under the sheets? under the mattresses?
In the Kid's Bedroom: You see nothing atop the mattress or underneath the bed--but when you lift the mattress of the frame, you are puzzled to discover a green dress. It's a rather frilly, old-fashioned evening gown, and it seems to have been stuffed haphazardly under the mattress, so it is now quite wrinkled.
In the Master Bedroom: nothing in the covers, under the mattress or under the bed.


Then pass to the dresser: anything on/over/inside? The dresser is mostly empty, but there is a white dress shirt, similarly old-fashioned and frilly to the dress you just found. You can't tell if it's a man's or woman's shirt.

Examine the closet too, if necessary light a candle. You light your candle and lean into the closet. It's not too large, but what's been squeezed in here is...remarkable. There's a heavy mahogany table with one small drawer, on top of which are an assortment of statues, little religious icons and strange carved symbols. There are two candlestick holders on either side of this...well, let's call it what it is, an altar. in the middle of the table is a brass bowl. Around it on the tabletop are some markings in chalk.

Try to open the Master Bedroom's door that is closed. If you can expore the new room. This door opens into what you believe is called a Powder Room. It looks like a bathroom, but there's no toilet, just a little chaise longue, and a sink with a cabinet beneath it.

[Acridian9]

Let's take a closer lookt at the altar, in particular the drawer (open it), the bowl and the chalk markings.

The same for the Powder Room: chaise longue, sink and cabinet.

We should try to summon Brian's ghost, but I don't remember if we know all it's needed. We have something he hid (the necklace), something he wore (the necktie) and we know how he was killed (strangled)....right?
We didn't find what he was strangled with, though.... can you examine the rope to see if you can tell if it was used to kill Brian?
And, we didn't find who killed him....right? (or was him the music man?)

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Let's take a closer lookt at the altar, in particular the drawer (open it), the bowl and the chalk markings.
You open the drawer in the altar table. It is empty except for a photo of a man smiling. The bowl atop the table is wide and shallow; it looks like it could hold several things at once. In chalk, there is a circle drawn around the bowl. Off to the side of the circle is written: NaCl.

The same for the Powder Room: chaise longue, sink and cabinet.
The couch seems unremarkable, but might be good if you feel the need to faint later.
This sink is identical to the one in the bathroom downstairs, except for the little cabinet built beneath it. When you open the cabinet it is empty, but it also has some chalk scribblings on the inside of the door.

We should try to summon Brian's ghost, but I don't remember if we know all it's needed. We have something he hid (the necklace), something he wore (the necktie) and we know how he was killed (strangled)....right? In the interest of not being unnecessarily obtuse, I will jump in and tell you--you have two of those three right.
We didn't find what he was strangled with, though.... can you examine the rope to see if you can tell if it was used to kill Brian?
When you take out the rope and examine it closely, you again get a momentary vision: a red mark around a pale white neck. No way of telling whose neck, though.
And, we didn't find who killed him....right? (or was him the music man?)
You aren't sure, but Brian was the one who figured out the piano puzzle and hid the necklace, so it's quite possible...you ponder this for a moment, muttering aloud, "Is Brian 'the music man'?" Even as you think it, you suddenly hear that old jazz music drifting up the stairs again. Didn't you turn that off?

[Acridian9]

Examine the chalk marks inside the cabinet. Then examine the photo from the drawer (front and back).
Btw... did we notice any pipes in the rooms of the second floor (like those six pipes downstairs)?

Let's explore the library too, included the corner that can't be seen from the doorway: Any interesting book? Other objects?

Go and get some salt from the spice rack, enough to make a circle around the bowl. As you are there, take another look at the Conservatory room.

When you say "you have two of those three right", do you mean that Brian was not strangled? Would hanged be a better word?

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Examine the chalk marks inside the cabinet.
There are six arrows, drawn in a row. They go like this: v v ^ v ^ ^

Then examine the photo from the drawer (front and back). Good call.
On the front is a picture of a tall, very pale man, with straight brown hair and a kind-looking face. He's smiling awkwardly and waving at the camera, like someone caught him off-guard.
On the back, in faded marker, is written "JACK, OCT 1995. BEST BUDS FOREVER." Then, in fresher-looking ink underneath that, it says: "Csy aivi xli jmvwx xs hmi fyx rsx xli pewx. Csy ampp fi ezirkih! ~Rexi"

Btw... did we notice any pipes in the rooms of the second floor (like those six pipes downstairs)?
The only pipe you see is in that same cabinet, leading from the sink above it back into the wall.

Let's explore the library too, included the corner that can't be seen from the doorway: Any interesting book? Other objects?
You return to the library and look at the shelves. There are a ton of books here, from dictionaries to cookbooks to musty old novels. In the area you were in before, you do see one book that's been pulled out slightly. It's called A History of California.
You turn the corner to the other half of the library. On the north end there's a long shelf filled with hundreds more books. One has a small slip of paper sticking out of it. On the south wall are two armchairs. Between them on the floor there is a stack of three books.

Go and get some salt from the spice rack, enough to make a circle around the bowl. Got it.
As you are there, take another look at the Conservatory room.
You poke your head in. All is as you left it, except that the record is again spinning on the Victrola, playing those slow, old jazz tunes. For some reason it sends a shiver down your spine.

When you say "you have two of those three right", do you mean that Brian was not strangled? Would hanged be a better word?
Oh no, I shouldn't be giving out meta-clues! Okay, last one--BRIAN was neither strangled nor hanged.

[Balin]

You were the first to die but not the last. You will be avenged! -Nate

Okay.

The book with the paper sticking out - open it to the pages where the paper is. What does the book say there? And is there anything on the paper?

[irishelk]

Balin

The book with the paper sticking out - open it to the pages where the paper is. What does the book say there? It's a history of ancient Egypt. You don't see anything of interest on this particular page.
And is there anything on the paper? Yes, there's a handwritten note:

To my secret love,
I know you won’t be able to resist looking through all these old books— and if you find this, so be it. If you don’t, this message and my love will remain hidden here forever. But I must write this—keeping it in my heart is killing me.
I’ve loved you since the first day we met. In history class, remember? I complimented you on your ancient library and lighthouse, and you joked that I was the capital of Mississippi. You’re the most brilliant, beautiful and kind person I’ve ever met. You have found someone else to build a life with, and I accept that. But just know that I will always be here if you need me.

[Balin]

Ancient library & lighthouse - recipient is named Alexandrie ("Allie"?)
Capital of MIssissippi - writer is named Jackson ("Jack"?)

[Acridian9]

Let's see if in the book A History of California there is something that may be useful. In particular, if there is a page that was read more than the others.
Let's examine the armchairs too and the books between them.

Then, let's eplore the (last?) two rooms: the Storage Room (examine the shelves) and the other one opening the door there.

Finally, let's go to the Closet under the staircase and position the six pipe's switches as the arrows: down, down, up down up up.

> Oh no, I shouldn't be giving out meta-clues! Okay, last one--BRIAN was neither strangled nor hanged.
Ah!! So, Brian is not (was not) the skeleton we found at the beginning....FA from me!

[irishelk]

Balin

Ancient library & lighthouse - recipient is named Alexandrie ("Allie"?)
Capital of MIssissippi - writer is named Jackson ("Jack"?)
You stand and ponder.


Acridian9

Let's see if in the book A History of California there is something that may be useful. In particular, if there is a page that was read more than the others. You open the book, and it easily falls open to one well-worn page:
Cobalt Thornefoot was one of the few men who truly made it rich in the 1849 California gold rush—not by honest mining or panning, but by cheating weary miners out of their money by any means necessary—including, it is alleged, murdering transient workmen. It is said that, in addition to the suspiciously large collection of raw metals that they cashed in, the Thornefoots retained a massive hidden hoard of stolen gold, although no one of repute claims to have seen this trove firsthand.

But it cannot be denied that there was some reason that his only daughter, Miranda Thornefoot, felt an immense weight of guilt and paranoia, and many speculate that it was due to her father’s ill-gotten gains. She built her West Coast mansion as a fortress that few could enter. The design featured unscalable walls, very few windows and, notoriously, no front door: only a well-hidden underground tunnel leading to the first floor. Armed guards walked the premises at all hours. It was a popular but unconfirmed legend that this was where they hid their mountain of gold and other illicit treasures.

Upon her death in 1919, the home was rented from the estate as a party destination and briefly a tourist location, but no enterprise managed to last long in the Thornefoots’ “Golden Manor.” The home was eccentrically built, with little regard for safety or comfort. Many also believed it was haunted by Miranda, her father Cobalt, or both. Today it is in the hands of the Thornefoot estate, which keeps it securely locked against would-be treasure seekers.



Let's examine the armchairs too and the books between them. The armchairs are a little moth-worn, but comfortable. You sit in one and pick up the books. They are Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Black, and Dracula by Bram Stoker. Someone has scribbled on them a bit with a black marker.

Then, let's eplore the (last?) Yep! two rooms: the Storage Room (examine the shelves)
It isn't quite light enough in the Storage Room to see into the far corners. But the light from the hall does fall on the shelves clearly enough to see that they are empty, except for a rusty aluminum can.
and the other one opening the door there.
This door is locked.

Finally, let's go to the Closet under the staircase and position the six pipe's switches as the arrows: down, down, up down up up.
Done! as you flip the last switch, you hear the squeaking of very corroded old metal, and then a rush of liquid.

[Acridian9]

Check if we can get water from a sink (try the one in the bathroom next to the mudroom, and the one in the Powder Room upstairs).

Light a candle and examine the Storage Room again. Also, examine the alluminum can.

Examine the black marks on the three books too.

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Check if we can get water from a sink (try the one in the bathroom next to the mudroom, and the one in the Powder Room upstairs).
You go downstairs (the creepy jazz music makes you want to move through the hall as quick as possible) and try the downstairs sink. Cold water gushes out of the faucet the moment you turn the handle. You gratefully start to wash you hands, but then--as if reacting to the sound of the water--the skeleton behind you that you were trying to ignore makes a rattling sound. You turn and see that the bones are shaking violently for just a moment, then they stop. You dash back up the stairs.
The upstairs sink works as well, and doesn't appear to cause anything supernatural to occur.

Light a candle and examine the Storage Room again. Also, examine the alluminum can.
You reenter the Storage Room with sufficient lighting. There is a piece of crumpled-up newspaper in the northwest corner. Inside the aluminum can is a bullet.

Examine the black marks on the three books too.
On the cover of Gulliver's Travels, the author's name Jonathan has been scribbled on--the "JO" and "HAN" have been blacked out, and an E has been added in heavy block lettering after the T.
The "Jonathan" in Jonathan Livingston Seagull has gotten the same treatment: "JO" and "HAN" scribbled out, "E" added.
The cover of Dracula looks normal, but on a hunch you flip through it. Oh wow. Every time Jonathan Harker is mentioned, his first name is graffiti'd on in the same manner. Someone...had some time on their hands?

[Acridian9]

Was the bullet fired? If not, let's see if it fits into the gun.

Then take the newspaper, examine it and read the relevant parts.

Then go to the Conservatory, stop the music, then wait and see if a ghost (the music man?) starts it again. It may be that nothing happens unless you exit the room, then you could maybe hide in another room and enter the Conservatory if the music starts again.
Also, see if Miranda's ghost is in the Dining Room.

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Was the bullet fired? Not yet! If not, let's see if it fits into the gun. It does!

Then take the newspaper, examine it and read the relevant parts. This is a smaller scrap of newspaper than the one you found before, but it is torn on top the same way the previous one was town on the bottom. It seems to pick up right where the last article left off.

—beautiful young lady, with red hair and freckles. Friends tell me she is usually cheerful and in control, but now her face is pale and rigid. I finally asked her if she could remember what happened when there was no one else left in the house except her and the killer, if she could remember any details of how she escaped. Her answer was not only puzzling, but disturbing: “No killer, no killer! Just her an' me, and she fell down. So far down. I thought I had to do as he said. How could I have known the car was so dangerous? I had to get through him to get out--and then I fell too."


Then go to the Conservatory, stop the music, then wait and see if a ghost (the music man?) starts it again. It may be that nothing happens unless you exit the room, then you could maybe hide in another room and enter the Conservatory if the music starts again.
As soon as you stop the music, two translucent figures appear, hovering off the ground. One, a man in a loud Hawaiian shirt with long brown hair and a beard, is almost on top of you--he is examining the Victrola, amused, then he turns back on the record you just turned off. The other is a small, slight blonde woman, whom you immediately recognize as the one who was hiding behind the angel statue in the garden. Again, she says, "He killed him!" but this time, she is speaking to the ghostly man.
"What are you talking about, Allie?" he answers, puzzled.
"He strangled Jack! Just now, out in the garden--I think he's dead! I knew he was acting strange this whole evening, but I can't understand--" she starts crying.
As she speaks, the man beside you's face hardens. He goes from looking laid-back and carefree, to seeming dark and dead behind the eyes. He holds her shoulders and says, "Go hide in the kitchen. I'll take care of everything."
She runs to the south exit of the Conservatory, and he marches toward the hallway door, then both vanish.

Also, see if Miranda's ghost is in the Dining Room. You try to follow the girl through the door into the Dining Room. No one here, alive or dead.

[irishelk]

> Oh no, I shouldn't be giving out meta-clues! Okay, last one--BRIAN was neither strangled nor hanged.
Ah!! So, Brian is not (was not) the skeleton we found at the beginning....FA from me!

P.S. You're doing so well, thank you guys for sticking with this one! It's stretching out much more than I anticipated, but you're really figuring things out amazingly.

I meant to comment on the above note, so as not to send you down the wrong path--you've now got two FAs about that skeleton.
My fault for giving meta-clues instead of just letting y'all stumble around!

[Acridian9]

> She runs to the south exit of the Conservatory
Oh... an exit I wasn't aware of...

So, summing up, the skeleton is Jack. He was strangled with the rope, he wore the necktie and hid the handwritten note in the book. We need to know ho killed him. Let's go to the kitchen and see if the ghost of Alex is there and try to ask her who killed Jack. Maybe first try to convince her that we mean no harm to her. Ask her also the name of the ghost with the Hawaiian shirt.

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Oh... an exit I wasn't aware of...That would be because I forgot to mention it! Just a door between Conservatory and Dining Room, not important.

Let's go to the kitchen and see if the ghost of Alex is there and try to ask her who killed Jack. You're thinking along good lines, but unfortunately there is no ghost in the Kitchen. If only there was a way to call her back...

[Balin]

...oh yeah, we're still in a spooky house.

Stop the music in the conservatory again, please.

[irishelk]

Balin

...oh yeah, we're still in a spooky house. I know right?!
I'm going to work on a recap to get back into this one.
...Maybe tomorrow.

Stop the music in the conservatory again, please. You take the needle off and stop the turntable. This time, it seems to stay off.

[Acridian9]

I'm going to work on a recap to get back into this one.

Yes, please, a recap. I'd like to finish this!!

[irishelk]

*********************BIG RECAP***********************

Current Inventory/Things You Can Access:
A ghost-blessed backpack that can hold an unlimited weight
A pencil and paper
Your useless, useless student ID
Some Lifesavers candy--wintergreen
A gun with one bullet
Keen's instructions
Two candles, one slightly used, and a candle holder
Matches
A necktie
A commonplace book with B on the cover
An antique emerald necklace
Scraps of newspaper
A diamond ring
A rope
A knife with blood on it
A photo of a man smiling
Salt
In the mudroom: A ton of wine
In the kitchen: A massive pile of laundry
In the kid’s bedroom: An old green dress, under the mattress
In the master bedroom: A dress shirt in the dresser
In the upstairs closet: An altar


Clues So Far:

What Keen said before abandoning you:
“I almost feel bad, makin' you go in on your own. No worries though, you’ll have plenty of help, I'm sure. Look, anything you find, you just haul out, and we’ll split this fifty-fifty. Deal?”…“Oh wow, the stories I could tell. Me and Allie, Brian, Nate and Jack…Wait, didn’t I give you the papers? There’s a map, a newspaper clipping, and my instructions. Didn’t I hand them to you?”…“Oh, of course. I left them in the mudroom, the last time I tried to go in there.”…“Yeah, the room right through there. I came here a few years ago, and walked through the Manor for a bit, but I got sorta…antsy. You’ll do much better, I know. I left all the directions you need right on the other side. I’m ninety percent sure.”…”I don’t think anyone wants me goin’ back in there again. But my map’s clear as crystal 'bout where the loot is hid—just follow it.”… "Well, y'see, there's some things up there that might not like me hanging around. I'd rather leave this closed, if you don't mind. But don't worry, they'll love you. Tell you what, once you find the loot, head to the Garden and climb over the wall. That'll put you out-front a the house, and I'll meet ya there."…[you threaten not to cooperate] “Aw, come on. You want it as much as I do. 'Sides, you might need my help gettin' out the other side, so I'd be careful with who you threaten, dearie.”

Paper from the mudroom:
INSTRUCTIONS
(for dealing with ghosts)
1) Ghosts usually don’t make a whole lot of sense, but they can never lie. Except the bad one. But you probably won’t meet him.
2) Three can get you up and down. Unless it’s life or death—then you need four.
3) To summon—first, find or make yourself a decent altar.
You need to lay three things on the altar: something they wore, something they hid, and something they were killed with.
Then you need to say their first name, how they died, and who killed them.

Two legible pages from the commonplace book with a B on it:
25 Oct. 1998 – Allie keeps snooping around to find my grandmother’s emerald necklace. Of course I’m going to give it to her at the reception, but she mustn’t find before. Too fun to keep her in suspense. Can’t wait to see her face. Must find better hiding place for it.
The second page:
31 Oct. 1998 –Entered Manor 6:30 PM. Do not intend to search all night. I have department party this evening—we must show our faces. Then A wants to go into town.
7:05 PM – found clever little lock system in the Manor. Very secure. Will leave necklace here until wedding day—then simply FACE THE MUSIC. Don’t forget it’s here!
7:45 – My face is burning red with fury. This betrayal will not stand.

First half of torn newspaper:
[Photo of a two-story mansion with a tower]
...storied history of the Manor and its supposed lost gold is probably familiar to the reader. If not, any history book of California will detail the facts and speculation regarding this gold-rush era mansion.
After the Saturday incident, authorities are not yet releasing names of the victims or any potential suspects. The police chief was asked whether one of the young people involved in the search could have been responsible for the deaths; there was no comment. This reporter was able to briefly interview the lone survivor, though she is understandably shaken. She states that she and her unfortunate companions searched the Manor thoroughly, and she is certain now that there is no lost treasure. When asked about the bloodstained shirt that was apparently found at the scene, she gave a cryptic comment: ‘She had to do it. He was out of control.’
This survivor is a—
Second half of torn newspaper:
—beautiful young lady, with red hair and freckles. Friends tell me she is usually cheerful and in control, but now her face is pale and rigid. I finally asked her if she could remember what happened when there was no one else left in the house except her and the killer, if she could remember any details of how she escaped. Her answer was not only puzzling, but disturbing: “No killer, no killer! Just her an' me, and she fell down. So far down. I thought I had to do as he said. How could I have known the car was so dangerous? I had to get through him to get out--and then I fell too."

What the Miranda-ghost said:
“My name is Miranda Thornefoot, and this is my home. As for your other questions...You should know that I didn't hurt them, any of them. I tried to help--I did help, didn't I? One of them escaped, didn't she?
"And I wish I could help you now, but...he's watching me. I'm sorry.”
[she nods yes to your question, ‘Was the one that escaped named Keen?’]
"I really wish I could give you all the answers--I do. But drawing his attention will hurt you more than it helps."
"You're going to get me in trouble...but let me see, maybe I can say something without really saying anything, you know? I always find it's best to go in a proper order, don't you? And if you're looking for the first one...the first one to go...well, that nasty business went down in the garden. But before you're able to talk to him, I'd recommend looking around--" [she points straight up.]
[you ask about the garden] "You're very sweet, thank you. I know it's an absolute mess--I can't go out there anymore."… "I've said too much--he's awake! He's listening now--I have to go."

History of California book:
Cobalt Thornefoot was one of the few men who truly made it rich in the 1849 California gold rush—not by honest mining or panning, but by cheating weary miners out of their money by any means necessary—including, it is alleged, murdering transient workmen. It is said that, in addition to the suspiciously large collection of raw metals that they cashed in, the Thornefoots retained a massive hidden hoard of stolen gold, although no one of repute claims to have seen this trove firsthand.
But it cannot be denied that there was some reason that his only daughter, Malinda Thornefoot, felt an immense weight of guilt and paranoia, and many speculate that it was due to her father’s ill-gotten gains. She built her West Coast mansion as a fortress that few could enter. The design featured unscalable walls, very few windows and, notoriously, no front door: only a well-hidden underground tunnel leading to the first floor. Armed guards walked the premises at all hours. It was a popular but unconfirmed legend that this was where they hid their mountain of gold and other illicit treasures.
Upon her death in 1919, the home was rented from the estate as a party destination and briefly a tourist location, but no enterprise managed to last long in the Thornefoots’ “Golden Manor.” The home was eccentrically built, with little regard for safety or comfort. Many also believed it was haunted by Malinda, her father Cobalt, or both. Today it is in the hands of the Thornefoot estate, which keeps it securely locked against would-be treasure seekers.

On the chalkboard:
We killed the music man.
~Nate and Cobalt

In the children’s book:
Remember, Miranda, they're out to get us. Everyone betrays someone. Trust no one. A=E

Written on photo of man smiling:
JACK, OCT 1995. BEST BUDS FOREVER.
You were the first to die but not the last. You will be avenged! ~Nate

Note inside book:
To my secret love,
I know you won’t be able to resist looking through all these old books— and if you find this, so be it. If you don’t, this message and my love will remain hidden here forever. But I must write this—keeping it in my heart is killing me.
I’ve loved you since the first day we met. In history class, remember? I complimented you on your ancient library and lighthouse, and you joked that I was the capital of Mississippi. You’re the most brilliant, beautiful and kind person I’ve ever met. You have found someone else to build a life with, and I accept that. But just know that I will always be here if you need me.

And, finally, the ghostly scene you just saw in the Conservatory:
As soon as you stop the music, two translucent figures appear, hovering off the ground. One, a man in a loud Hawaiian shirt with long brown hair and a beard, is almost on top of you--he is examining the Victrola, amused, then he turns back on the record you just turned off. The other is a small, slight blonde woman, whom you immediately recognize as the one who was hiding behind the angel statue in the garden. Again, she says, "He killed him!" but this time, she is speaking to the ghostly man.
"What are you talking about, Allie?" he answers, puzzled.
"He strangled Jack! Just now, out in the garden--I think he's dead! I knew he was acting strange this whole evening, but I can't understand--" she starts crying.
As she speaks, the man beside you's face hardens. He goes from looking laid-back and carefree, to seeming dark and dead behind the eyes. He holds her shoulders and says, "Go hide in the kitchen. I'll take care of everything."
She runs to the south exit of the Conservatory, and he marches toward the hallway door, then both vanish.

Maps:
First Floor
Second Floor


I'm not going to repeat every clue in every room right now, but if you enter a room and say "look around" I'll recap what's happened there.

[Acridian9]

Thanks for the recap!
I'm really out of ideas right now, except trying to talk with Allie ... and see if the skeleton comes alive if we let the water run enough.
So, let's call Allie's name in all downstairs rooms, including the garden. If she ever comes up, explain the situation then ask her who killed Jack, and the name of the ghost with the Hawaiian shirt. If she can talk more, ask her if she knows of other death and who killed who.

[irishelk]

Acridian9

...and see if the skeleton comes alive if we let the water run enough. Not sure if this was a direct instruction, but I like it so I'm going to do it anyway.
You turn the water faucet downstairs back on and let it run for a while. Sure enough, the skeleton starts trembling again, almost as if...it's scared. But it doesn't do anything else no matter how long you run the tap, and as soon as you turn it off it goes still again.

So, let's call Allie's name in all downstairs rooms, including the garden. If she ever comes up, explain the situation then ask her who killed Jack, and the name of the ghost with the Hawaiian shirt. If she can talk more, ask her if she knows of other death and who killed who. You circle the entire bottom floor, calling her name. You get nothing, but just as you loop back to the stairs, you hear a faint, high-pitched giggle--just like the one when you first arrived. It's hard to tell for sure, but it could be Allie's voice...

[Balin]

Head upstairs and continue calling for Allie in all rooms on that floor.

[irishelk]

Balin

Head upstairs and continue calling for Allie in all rooms on that floor.
You go upstairs (again feeling dizzy and off-balance on that top step) and call for Allie. You hear the giggle again, and you think you see a slight flickering of movement going from the door of the master bedroom to the door of the kid's bedroom. Then there is silence again. You keep calling, but nothing further.

[Acridian9]

Let's follow the flickering to the kid's bedroom. Look around.

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Let's follow the flickering to the kid's bedroom. Look around.

The room is as it was before: there is a small bed against the north wall, and some plain wooden toy cars in the middle of the floor. You remember that under the mattress you found a frilly, old-fashioned green dress that looked like it had been stuffed under there some time ago.

[Balin]

Call Allie's name in here.

[irishelk]

Balin

Call Allie's name in here. You do--no reponse.

[Balin]

Go back and examine that dizzying top step. Is there anything unique or different about it?

[trebor]

Let’s go into the bedroom with the green dress again, call for Allie, and check under the mattress for any difference in the dress. And maybe also call her name while looking at the dress.

Can we go check the bathroom to see if maybe it was just water that was jostling the bones? Maybe there’s something new to discover in the tub now? Or something has maybe been dislodged from the faucet?

Not sure what to do with this yet, but flagging two bits so I don’t forget for next time: it seems either that Nate is intent on us finding his name, or someone else is. And someone might joke that the capital of Mississippi is “M”, which would point to Miranda.

[irishelk]

Balin

Go back and examine that dizzying top step. Is there anything unique or different about it? No, just that it's definitely the top one where you feel that sense of vertigo, like you're about to fall.


trebor

Let’s go into the bedroom with the green dress again, call for Allie, and check under the mattress for any difference in the dress. And maybe also call her name while looking at the dress. You call and call, but nothing else seems to happen. The dress is still stuffed haphazardly under the mattress.

Can we go check the bathroom to see if maybe it was just water that was jostling the bones? Actually, it's still dry in the tub, so it doesn't seem like water was running in there...recently...
Maybe there’s something new to discover in the tub now? Or something has maybe been dislodged from the faucet? Nope, just a grody disgusting skeleton.

Not sure what to do with this yet, but flagging two bits so I don’t forget for next time: it seems either that Nate is intent on us finding his name, or someone else is. And someone might joke that the capital of Mississippi is “M”, which would point to Miranda. You ponder these sage thoughts, and it reminds you of one of those weird ghost-summoning instructions: You need to say their first name.

[Balin]

Try calling for "Alexandria" instead, both in the kid's bedroom and the one with the dress.

[irishelk]

Balin

Try calling for "Alexandria" instead, both in the kid's bedroom and the one with the dress. That name feels right when you say it, but unfortunately nothing happens.

[Acridian9]

Is it possible we never looked closely to the dress under the mattress?
Let's take it and examine it!!

Then let's try to go around the various rooms calling for Alexandria.

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Is it possible we never looked closely to the dress under the mattress?
Let's take it and examine it!! Dress taken!
It's a very old fashioned green gown with lots of lacy frills, maybe something from the early 1900s. It's a little wrinkled from being stuffed under the bed, but it's not completely creased. You doubt it's been under there for decades.

Then let's try to go around the various rooms calling for Alexandria. You go in every single room and shout "Alexandria." Nothing. You start to suspect there will be more steps to it than this.

[trebor]

Okay. Let's go to the Library and grab the "Mississippi" note that was sticking out of one of the books, and then go to the altar. If I'm correct, Jack was the person we found in the bathtub. Was he the one who wrote that note? Let's place it on the altar, along with the rope and his necktie. Then say, "Jack. Strangled. Brian." What happens?

Also, can we examine the necklace and the green dress? Do they appear to go together? Does anything happen if we place the two of them together?

Can we go examine the pile of laundry? Is there anything in it that immediately catches the eye? Perhaps a Hawaiian shirt? Or bloody clothing?

[irishelk]

trebor

Okay. Let's go to the Library and grab the "Mississippi" note that was sticking out of one of the books, and then go to the altar. Got it.
If I'm correct, Jack was the person we found in the bathtub. Hm... Was he the one who wrote that note? That seems very likely.

Let's place it on the altar, along with the rope and his necktie. Then say, "Jack. Strangled. Brian." What happens? As you perform these tasks, the air seems to glow golden around you. Particularly when you speak, your voice seems to echo as if you were in a much larger room, and those three words together sound...right. But then the glow fades, and the necktie flies off the altar as if it was flung. At the same time, you hear an unpleasant, squishy squelching noise. It seems to be coming from the north, and maybe...outside?

Also, can we examine the necklace and the green dress? Do they appear to go together? They don't seem to be part of the same outfit, but they are similarly baroque and old-fashioned looking. If you knew of someone who would enjoy the necklace, then the dress would probably catch their eye too. Does anything happen if we place the two of them together? Nope.

Can we go examine the pile of laundry? Is there anything in it that immediately catches the eye? Perhaps a Hawaiian shirt? Or bloody clothing? Two in one! You rummage through the laundry and find a Hawaiian shirt, loudly patterned, but you can still make out some bloodstains on it. Actually, there are several ragged holes in the shirt, and the blood seems to be centered around these holes.

(Nice work!)

[Balin]

Take a peek into the garden and see if we can find out what made that squelch.

[irishelk]

Balin

Take a peek into the garden and see if we can find out what made that squelch. You return to the garden and take another look around: all seems to be as before. There is a tall wall ahead with some markings on it. To your right (east), there's that angel statue and a dead-looking tree. There is a square garden patch to your left (west), which used to have the rope fencing it in until you grabbed it. The dead, decaying vegetation in the garden patch is the squelchiest looking thing around. And there is something small and white in the middle of it.

[trebor]

Perfect. Let’s examine that white thing in the middle of the vegetation. And the area around it, for any recent activity.

[irishelk]

trebor

Perfect. Let’s examine that white thing in the middle of the vegetation. It is about four inches square, and might be some kind of fabric. But it is right in the middle of melting plant goo, and you know yourself well enough to know that you are not traipsing through that ickiness to pick it up.
And the area around it, for any recent activity. Oddly, nothing around it seems disturbed--there are definitely no footprints. As if whatever it is just wiggled itself around a little.

[trebor]

Can we use the rope to try to drag that white thing towards us? Or perhaps we could tie it around the knife and then, if our aim is any good, try to throw the knife and stab the white thing with it, and then pull it towards us.

Let's go examine the writing on that wall by the garden as well. (I can't remember if we've done so already.) And also note anything else on or about the wall.

[irishelk]

trebor

Can we use the rope to try to drag that white thing towards us? You toss it out into the muck, but it flops around and doesn't catch the mystery item.
Or perhaps we could tie it around the knife and then, if our aim is any good, try to throw the knife and stab the white thing with it, and then pull it towards us. It's a good idea. You manage to hit the object with the knife, but you can't really push or pull the item back to you with the rope. Maybe something more rigid.
Also, now your rope and knife are icky. You waste some time shaking them and wiping them on the ground and making childish faces.

Let's go examine the writing on that wall by the garden as well. (I can't remember if we've done so already.) You have not! The words are actually engraved into the wall in a nice script. It says: Xlvii ger kix csy yt erh hsar
And also note anything else on or about the wall. Other than that, the wall is completely featureless, smooth white cement. It is about 20 feet high.

[Acridian9]

So it says: Three can get you up and down

I always thought it meant three ghosts... but maybe a fa from me.

If I remember correctly, the rope was on some posts... can we use them to get the white object?

[Balin]

That "three" quote was also in the initial list of instructions for dealing with ghosts: "Three can get you up and down. Unless it’s life or death—then you need four."

[irishelk]

Acridian9

So it says: Three can get you up and down

I always thought it meant three ghosts... but maybe a fa from me. Sounds reasonable to me!

If I remember correctly, the rope was on some posts... can we use them to get the white object? Aha. You pull one of the stakes out of the ground and use it to poke at the white thing in the muck. Eventually you can successfully hook it and pull it in.
It's a white silk handkerchief with a fancy J stitched onto it. You wish you could use it to clean off your hands, but it's even filthier than you.


Balin

That "three" quote was also in the initial list of instructions for dealing with ghosts: "Three can get you up and down. Unless it’s life or death—then you need four." Indeed!

[Balin]

Just remembered what that note said about the capital of Mississippi... what happens if we put the note and rope and necktie back on the altar and say "Jackson, strangled, Brian"?

[irishelk]

Balin

Just remembered what that note said about the capital of Mississippi... what happens if we put the note and rope and necktie back on the altar and say "Jackson, strangled, Brian"?
As you say these words and drop the note...then the rope...the air begins to seem hazy and you feel a chill up your spine. You have the feeling of an impending shock, like someone is about to walk in the door...then you drop the necktie, and the atmosphere completely evaporates. The tie flops off the altar and onto the floor.

Ooh, so close! I love this, you guys are doing so good.

[trebor]

I think I may have just started us on the wrong foot at the altar by getting the names backward. What if we go to the altar, put the tie and note on it, do everything as before, except this time we say, "Brian strangled Jack(son)."?

[irishelk]

trebor

I think I may have just started us on the wrong foot at the altar by getting the names backward. What if we go to the altar, put the tie and note on it, do everything as before, except this time we say, "Brian strangled Jack(son)."? When you do this, the same thing happens--the room gets all spooky, everything seems to be going right--until you put the tie on. Then everything goes back to normal and the tie flops to the floor.

[Balin]

Went back to that note again:

To summon—first, find or make yourself a decent altar.
You need to lay three things on the altar: something they wore, something they hid, and something they were killed with.
Then you need to say their first name, how they died, and who killed them.

The necktie seems to be the item getting flung off... perhaps that's not the item Jack wore.
The handkerchief has an initial J... try that in place of the necktie and say "Jackson, strangled, Brian" again. (I don't know if a handkerchief counts as "worn," but it's worth a try.

[irishelk]

Balin

The necktie seems to be the item getting flung off... perhaps that's not the item Jack wore.
The handkerchief has an initial J... try that in place of the necktie and say "Jackson, strangled, Brian" again. (I don't know if a handkerchief counts as "worn," but it's worth a try.

As soon as you finish this ritual, the room grows even darker, cold and misty. Suddenly, A translucent vision appears, much like the woman downstairs, except this is a tall, pale young man, with straight brown hair and a kind, sensitive-looking face. He smiles sadly. When he speaks, his voice seems to echo all around you. “Yeah, that’s right. It was Brian.” He shakes his non-corporeal head. “I couldn’t believe it, even as it was happening. I mean, he was always a bit of an jerk, but a killer? I thought he knew that I’d never seriously try to steal her away from him—we were buddies! We played in band together in high school." He chuckles. “He was much more devoted to music, of course. I think that’s why Alex fell for him instead of me. He had it all and still, I guess he wasn’t happy. What a strange guy.

“But in any case, I thank you for bringing me back. I’m happy to repay the favor. I guess you're a treasure hunter just like we were, huh? Well, I hope you're luckier than us. Just call me if I can help...not sure if I can do much, though. Also, if you are able to reach Brian at all, I’d really love to ask him why he felt the need to strangle me with a garden rope.” With that, the room returns to normal and he begins to dissipate slowly, like a morning fog.

[Balin]

ohhhhkay. This should be interesting.

Have a few ponderances. First, I'm copy-pasting the ghostly scene from the conservatory:

As soon as you stop the music, two translucent figures appear, hovering off the ground. One, a man in a loud Hawaiian shirt with long brown hair and a beard, is almost on top of you--he is examining the Victrola, amused, then he turns back on the record you just turned off. The other is a small, slight blonde woman, whom you immediately recognize as the one who was hiding behind the angel statue in the garden. Again, she says, "He killed him!" but this time, she is speaking to the ghostly man.
"What are you talking about, Allie?" he answers, puzzled.
"He strangled Jack! Just now, out in the garden--I think he's dead! I knew he was acting strange this whole evening, but I can't understand--" she starts crying.
As she speaks, the man beside you's face hardens. He goes from looking laid-back and carefree, to seeming dark and dead behind the eyes. He holds her shoulders and says, "Go hide in the kitchen. I'll take care of everything."
She runs to the south exit of the Conservatory, and he marches toward the hallway door, then both vanish.

We found a loud Hawaiian shirt in the laundry, bloodstained and punched with holes. Do the holes appear to be from a blade or from bullets?

And if Brian strangled Jack in the garden... and Keen in the introduction said "Me and Allie, Brian, Nate, and Jack..." ... then would that make the Hawaiian-shirted man Nate? And where does Keen pop into the story...

[irishelk]

Balin

We found a loud Hawaiian shirt in the laundry, bloodstained and punched with holes. Do the holes appear to be from a blade or from bullets? You hold up the shirt, and the holes appear to be long, ragged stabs rather than circular holes. You'd guess a knife.

And if Brian strangled Jack in the garden... and Keen in the introduction said "Me and Allie, Brian, Nate, and Jack..." ... then would that make the Hawaiian-shirted man Nate? Seems reasonable. And where does Keen pop into the story... Great questions!

[Balin]

Then let's go back to the altar.

We've got something Nate wore (the Hawaiian shirt) and presumably the thing he was killed with (the bloody knife). Do we have something he hid? (The photo of the smiling man had his cipher on it. Maybe that?)

Try putting those three items on the altar and say "Jonathan, stabbed, Brian." (Pretty sure Nate's full first name is "Jonathan" from the blacked-out marks on the books.)

[irishelk]

Balin

Then let's go back to the altar.

We've got something Nate wore (the Hawaiian shirt) and presumably the thing he was killed with (the bloody knife). Do we have something he hid? (The photo of the smiling man had his cipher on it. Maybe that?)

Try putting those three items on the altar and say "Jonathan, stabbed, Brian." (Pretty sure Nate's full first name is "Jonathan" from the blacked-out marks on the books.)

Once again, as you begin your weird occult ceremony, the room becomes cold, dim and foggy. You place the items, and as you begin to say the words, the room hums with necromantic energy...

Until you say "Brian." Then everything goes back to normal. You realized you had your hands raised like a wizard or something, and you put them down, a little sheepish.

Hint if you want it:

As you can probably guess, those were all correct except the name of the killer. It might help to try summoning someone else first...

[Balin]

Going to put a lot of information here:

ALLIE DETAILS:
-wore: probably the green dress, since it's the same style as the necklace Brian left for her
-hid: ?
-killed with: ? (though note what the newspaper said about a car)
-first name: Alexandria (note about her ancient libraries)
-how died: falling, per the newspaper article (Keen matches the description of the surviving witness, and there were presumably no other corporeal females in the manor)
-who killed her: ? (though see below)

BRIAN DETAILS:
-wore: ?
-hid: emerald necklace (hidden from Allie, his affianced, per his commonplace book)
-killed with: ?
-first name: nothing has suggested "Brian" is short for anything, but Allie, Nate, and Jack all are. But "Brian" worked when summoning Jack's ghost, so it should be nice here.
-how died: ? (have we even found his body?)
-who killed: I believe Nate (since he wrote the cipher about avenging Jack. also see below)

NATE DETAILS:
-wore: Hawaiian shirt (matches Victrola ghost)
-hid: photo of smiling man (has the cipher he used - and Cobalt used, since that must have been Cobalt's note to Miranda (per history book) in the math book)
-killed with: bloody knife (matches wounds in shirt)
-first name: Jonathan (from defaced books)
-how killed: stabbed (from knife + shirt)
-who killed: I just figured this out - it was Allie. (Keen's quote in the newspaper: "When asked about the bloodstained shirt that was apparently found at the scene, she gave a cryptic comment: ‘She had to do it. He was out of control.’" The only bloodstained shirt is Nate's, and as stated before, Allie was the only other corporeal female besides Keen.)

BUT, Miranda's ghost said: "I always find it's best to go in a proper order, don't you?" Meaning we should be summoning the ghosts in the order they died. Jack was first, since Miranda said the first death was in the garden. Brian must have been next, so we should summon him next before moving on to Nate.

Did we ever examine those footprints leading to Jack's skeleton in the bathroom? Can we do so now?

Hunting through old posts for details, just realized: have we ever found any way to get into the tower? (It's pictured in the newspaper and on the wine label.)

MORE STUFF:

Nate definitely killed Brian. His cipher said "We killed the music man. -Nate and Cobalt." Brian was the one obsessed with music, as Jack's ghost just told us.

But why Nate AND Cobalt? Is Cobalt's ghost here too, and is his the ghost we should fear? Was he the reason Nate went "out of control" and Allie had to stab him? Did Cobalt possess all the killers? (Which makes me think he possessed Keen, and she killed Allie, but somehow got out.)

Okay, Cobalt's ghost is definitely here, and is the villain of the piece.
-Miranda's ghost said, "And I wish I could help you now, but...he's watching me. I'm sorry." And right before vanishing, she said, "I've said too much--he's awake! He's listening now--I have to go."
-Keen, in the newspaper, said: "I thought I had to do as he said. How could I have known the car was so dangerous? I had to get through him to get out--and then I fell too." At this point, there are no living male humans in the house.
-Keen's first instruction for dealing with ghosts says, "Ghosts usually don’t make a whole lot of sense, but they can never lie. Except the bad one. But you probably won’t meet him." That must be Cobalt, and we're absolutely going to meet him now.

Anyway, back to Brian.

...I've got nothing for Brian.

[irishelk]

Wow, you've got so much of it so correct! Let me try to help you out.

Did we ever examine those footprints leading to Jack's skeleton in the bathroom? Can we do so now? Reluctantly, you return to the disgusting skeleton-infested bathroom where you began this journey. Other than your own sneaker prints tracking in mud from the mudroom, there are the tracks of two pairs of men's shoes going into the bathroom, and only one coming out. You follow their trail into the bathroom and ponder the skeleton, its head down at the bottom of the tub. You remember that you found a water-stained commonplace book and a mildewy necktie in there with it, both of which are now in your backpack.

Ew. You should remember not to eat anymore of the mints in there.

[Balin]

I was under the impression that the bathroom skeleton is Jack's, as it showed signs of strangulation, but Brian (as you said) was neither strangled nor hanged. But if the necktie and commonplace book were Brian's... is this Brian's skeleton after all?

Hang on - the skeleton rattled when the sink turned on.

Taking a shot here: empty a wine bottle and fill it up with water from the sink. I'm going to guess that Brian wore the tie since it was with his monogrammed commonplace book. So place the tie, necklace, and bottle on the altar, and say "Brian, drowned, Jonathan."

[Acridian9]

We can try to summon Nate's ghost too:
Hawaiian shirt, photo of smiling man, knife, "Jonathan, stabbed, Alexandria."

And when we have three ghosts, can we ask them to take us up to the tower?

[irishelk]

Balin

I was under the impression that the bathroom skeleton is Jack's, as it showed signs of strangulation, but Brian (as you said) was neither strangled nor hanged. But if the necktie and commonplace book were Brian's... is this Brian's skeleton after all?

Hang on - the skeleton rattled when the sink turned on.

Taking a shot here: empty a wine bottle and fill it up with water from the sink. I'm going to guess that Brian wore the tie since it was with his monogrammed commonplace book. So place the tie, necklace, and bottle on the altar, and say "Brian, drowned, Jonathan."
Wow, you're really going for a spiritual summoning marathon today! As soon as you say the final word, another ghostly vision appears in the air above you.

This time, it’s a shorter, stockier man, with a dark complexion, curly black hair, and a furious expression on his face. As soon as his mouth forms, he begins shouting. “This is absolutely unacceptable! First I have to deal with Jackson trying to steal my girl—well, thinking about it now with a cooler head, I’m not sure he really was trying to…” he seems to calm down a fraction. “Yeah, honestly I probably overreacted on that one. But I couldn’t help it, I was enraged. It was like this voice was in my head, telling me to kill him…in fact, there was a voice…like an old man, with a weird accent…In any case, that didn’t make it acceptable for Nate to go after me like that!”

Seeing your blank expression at this volley of words, he goes on, “Oh, you don’t know Nate? Consider yourself lucky. He’s utterly low-class, no sense of fashion—you should have seen that terrible floral shirt he wore on this important expedition. Ridiculous.

“And then, of course, he forces me into the bathtub at gunpoint and drowns me, which seemed completely uncalled for. That’s overkill—literally. What possible motive could he have for that? I was only doing what was necessary to protect my woman and get my gold. That’s my right as an American. Well, I’m too angry to fully dissipate back into ether at the moment, so just call if you need me.” And with a final huff, he fades from sight.


Acridian9

We can try to summon Nate's ghost too:
Hawaiian shirt, photo of smiling man, knife, "Jonathan, stabbed, Alexandria."
The eerie mist from Brian's visitation hasn't even fully dissipated before you plop some more offerings on the altar. It's really getting crowded now!

The cold oppressive atmosphere remains, but no one appears at first, and you fear the summoning didn't work. Then, you hear a sigh, and walk around the bed to find a small, slight man sitting with his back against the mattress, one leg pulled up to his chest. His sad and grim expression contrasts with his loud Hawaiian shirt—no longer bloodstained. He brushes messy blonde hair out of his face and says, “I still can’t believe I did it. The voice just—it drove me crazy, I had no control. I’m so sorry for Brian. I mean, yes, he killed Jack—” his voice catches, and he pauses for a moment, “—he killed Jack, but I understand now. He was driven to it, just like I was. It’s just all so unfortunate. I mean…I knew Jack would never feel about me the way I did about him, but…I’d do anything for him. And the voice knew that. And he used it against us.

“I was never sure who killed me, but whoever it was? Good for them. It was necessary.

“Anyway, I’m going to go see if I can talk to the others…maybe start to patch things up between us. Call us if you need anything.” He starts to stand, but from his position he glances under the bed. “By the way, there’s a key under here. Not sure if you needed that for anything?” With that, he vanishes.

And when we have three ghosts, can we ask them to take us up to the tower?
Nate reappears. "Oh, that was quick. Uh, the tower? That's kinda high. I've done some tests in my spare time--you tend to have a lot of it, haunting and whatnot--and I am able to levitate objects, but only to a certain height. You say there's three of us around right now? Well, I'd reckon that together, we could get you up about 20 feet. But I think the tower's more like 30. I don't want to risk you falling, it's kinda life or death."

[Balin]

"Unless it's life or death -- then you need four." So we'll need to summon Allie in order for the ghosts to get us (singular) up to the tower.

Take the key from under the bed and examine it. Is there anything else under the bed? If so, take it.

Did we ever open the locked door in the storage room? Try using the key there.

[irishelk]

Balin

"Unless it's life or death -- then you need four." So we'll need to summon Allie in order for the ghosts to get us (singular) up to the tower.

Take the key from under the bed and examine it. Got it. It's a normal door key, but you looked earlier and you could have sworn there was nothing there. Is there anything else under the bed? Nothing.

Did we ever open the locked door in the storage room? Try using the key there. You return to the hall, enter the dark storage room, and try the key on the eastern door. Success! You look into a tiny room. The only light comes from a window on the north wall (your left). In the center of the room, a very narrow, metal staircase spirals up through the ceiling.

[Acridian9]

After taking a good look at the room (door, window, over/under the staircase), let's go up.

[Balin]

Ah... "three can get you up and down" = "three can get you the key to the staircase." But it'll take four to get us up and down from the tower window.

[irishelk]

Acridian9

After taking a good look at the room (door, window, over/under the staircase), let's go up. Nothing lying around in the room except dust. The window is narrow, with thick glass that doesn't seem to open.

You ascend the tight spirals of the staircase, which is a bit more rickety than you'd like, and end up in another small, circular, empty room. This must be the top of the tower--the ceiling is domed. The only thing here is a window, much larger and with a latch that appears to swing open.


Balin

Ah... "three can get you up and down" = "three can get you the key to the staircase." But it'll take four to get us up and down from the tower window. Hm, maybe...

[Balin]

Or maybe it took three ghosts to get the key to the tower. Something to ponder.

I'm an acrophobe, and I'm wary after rereading the newspaper article about Allie's death:

'Her answer was not only puzzling, but disturbing: “No killer, no killer! Just her an' me, and she fell down. So far down. I thought I had to do as he said. How could I have known the car was so dangerous? I had to get through him to get out--and then I fell too."'

...which makes me think Allie fell from the tower. Though I can't figure out if she fell out of the tower or down the spiral staircase. Either way, let's be careful.

(I'm still not sure what she hid or what we could place on the altar to say killed her. Also, I've been wondering if there's a way to re-summon Miranda's ghost.

Examine the floor in the room, carefully - see if there are any weak or loose spots. Examine the window and latch, carefully, as well. What is the view outside the window from up here? Look up at the ceiling - is there anything unusual or noticeable about it? Then, carefully, open the window. (Hold on to something while doing so.)

[Acridian9]

It may be that the car that killed Alice is one of the wooden toy cars we found in one of the upstair rooms.
It may also be that Allie hid the old-fashioned green dress under the mattress, and that she wore the emerald necklace.
I also guess that she was killed by Keen..... isn't it worth a try at the altar?

[irishelk]

Balin

Examine the floor in the room, carefully - see if there are any weak or loose spots. You wander around, but the walls and floor seem stable, just dusty. Examine the window and latch, carefully, as well. The window has a small latch in the center, holding together two panes that seem to swing open. Looks functional, not like it's about to break or anything.

What is the view outside the window from up here? When you look straight down from the window, you are seeing the abandoned garden from above--you can make out the rotten old plants, and the angel statue, although they look really, really far away. You can see the big concrete wall, but you also can see over the wall, to the world beyond. There is a grassy field behind the house, and a path that seems to lead up to the garden wall. After so long stuck in this dark, dusty house, you feel a great sense of relief to see there's still a normal world out there. There is a figure standing on the path.

Look up at the ceiling - is there anything unusual or noticeable about it? Not even a little bit.Then, carefully, open the window. (Hold on to something while doing so.) You gingerly swing open both sides of the window. There's a nice breeze. You can now see that the person on the path is Keen, and she is looking up at you.



Acridian9

It may be that the car that killed Alice is one of the wooden toy cars we found in one of the upstair rooms. Maybe!
It may also be that Allie hid the old-fashioned green dress under the mattress, and that she wore the emerald necklace.
I also guess that she was killed by Keen..... isn't it worth a try at the altar? You pop your head back in the window and return downstairs to the altar, grabbing one of the toy cars from the kid's bedroom.
You add it, along with the necklace and the dress, in the shallow bowl on the altar...but something doesn't feel quite right. You recall that Brian hid the necklace before giving it to his fiancee, so it's possible she never wore it. Want to rummage around in your bottomless backpack for something else that might fit the bill?

[Balin]

The diamond ring has her initial inscribed on that. Try it instead, and say "Alexandria, fell, Keen."

Hadn't even noticed the toy cars - nice eyes Acridian!

[irishelk]

Balin

The diamond ring has her initial inscribed on that. Try it instead, and say "Alexandria, fell, Keen." A familiar mist surrounds you, but before you see anything, you hear a mischievous giggle from behind you. You spin to see that a petite, beautiful blonde woman has popped into view, laughing behind a hand. “Okay, okay, you finally caught me. That was quite a game of hide-and-seek! Almost like when I thought Brian was stalking me into the kitchen. It was awful, running from my fiancé like that! I hid in the closet with the knife and then—well, it turned out to be Nate instead. But I'm sure he was planning to kill me too, and I couldn't have that! Had to get rid of him. It was really gross to do, but I'm not as helpless as people think. I can take care of myself.

“I feel so silly, though. I’m sure all the others had such dramatic tales of their deaths, and I just slipped on something and went headfirst over the grand staircase! Probably a banana peel—I’m so ridiculously clumsy. Did you figure out any other details about how I died, by the way? I’d be super curious.”


Hadn't even noticed the toy cars - nice eyes Acridian! Great teamwork!

[Acridian9]

Tell Alie how she died.
Ask her about the dizziness at the top of the stair (presumably where she fell).
Also ask if the four ghosts could bring us beyond the garden wall.
Then, back to the tower window, and try to communicate with Keen. Can we hear each other?
We could also try to speak to Keen from the garden.

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Tell Alie how she died. Still at the altar, as sensitively as possible, you spill the beans to Allie about Keen causing her death. Her cloudy white form seems to grow stormy.

“What? WHAT?! That—that evil woman! That snake in the grass. Wait, how do you know this? Are you in league with that awful Keen? I always knew she was no good, I tried to tell Brian—well, no way am I helping any of you now. Letting me go around thinking I was clumsy—when I’m a murder victim! You obviously don’t have my best interests at heart.” She spins to face away from you and folds her arms. But she doesn't disappear, and after a moment she glances over he shoulder to see what you'll do next.

Ask her about the dizziness at the top of the stair (presumably where she fell). She makes an impatient huffing noise. "Well yeah, that place is haunted by the last impression I left as I fell to my doom, duh. What kind of ghost hunter are you if you don't even know that?"

Also ask if the four ghosts could bring us beyond the garden wall. For a moment, she seems to forget her anger, seeming to take an interest in your question. "I guess so. I mean, getting you over the wall from down in the garden would be easy-peasy--three of us could do that. But with all four? We could probably help you straight down from the tower. Slow your fall, you know." Her frown returns. "Not that I'm helping you, you're friends with my murderer!"

Then, back to the tower window, and try to communicate with Keen. Can we hear each other? You look out the window and shout down, and she waves--seems like you can hear each other if you yell loudly. You hear her call, "Good, you made it! Got the gold yet? Toss it down and let's get a move on!"

We could also try to speak to Keen from the garden. You awkwardly leave the tower without answering Keen and go down to the garden wall, where in theory you should be even closer to her. But as loud as you yell, you get no answer from her. And somehow it doesn't feel like your voice is carrying, like it normally would outside. "What's all the racket for?" You hear from behind you, and you turn to see the ghost of Jackson leaning against the angel statue, watching you with an amused smile.

[Balin]

Went back to the beginning... did we ever find Keen's map in the mudroom? She said that it would point to the gold, clear as day... and we've kinda lost the "treasure hunt" aspect. Not that this has been a bad thing, as the story has been incredible to follow.

But as far as I know, we haven't seen any gold in the manor... and Keen's ramblings in that newspaper clipping are making me wonder. I suspect there is gold here somewhere, but I'm not sure where to look.

Anyway, ask Jackson what's going on - why we could hear Keen from the tower but she's not responding here. Ask him also about the rumored hidden gold.

And try and speak to Allie as well. Ask her what we can do to help... after all, we don't want to leave her a newly-bitter ghost for eternity.

[Acridian9]

That's my idea too.... ask Keen and/or the ghosts about the treasure, and if they don't know where it is, ask them about the map.

[irishelk]

Balin

Went back to the beginning... did we ever find Keen's map in the mudroom? You did not. She said that it would point to the gold, clear as day... and we've kinda lost the "treasure hunt" aspect. Not that this has been a bad thing, as the story has been incredible to follow.

But as far as I know, we haven't seen any gold in the manor... and Keen's ramblings in that newspaper clipping are making me wonder. I suspect there is gold here somewhere, but I'm not sure where to look. Glad you're still enjoying it, you're almost done!

Anyway, ask Jackson what's going on - why we could hear Keen from the tower but she's not responding here. "Oh, that's simple enough. Because going over the wall this way is not the same as jumping over it from the tower. They don't go to the same place. I think it's something to trap us all here--we can go over or through the wall all day long, and we can help you get down from the tower, but we can never use that escape ourselves. You think we'd still be here if we could leave?"
Ask him also about the rumored hidden gold. He doesn't say any more, but looks meaningfully at the garden wall with a funny little smile on his face.

And try and speak to Allie as well. Ask her what we can do to help... after all, we don't want to leave her a newly-bitter ghost for eternity. Now that she's been summoned once, she can easily be called again. As soon as you say her name, she appears in a big puff of fog that somehow feels irritated. Her arms are folded. "What."
You apologize and ask if you can do anything, and she shrugs noncommittally. "Girls like presents, you know." Behind her, Jackson scoffs, which she pretends not to hear.



Acridian9

That's my idea too.... ask Keen and/or the ghosts about the treasure, and if they don't know where it is, ask them about the map. You ask Allie about the gold too, and she is clearly not in the mood to help, but you catch that her ghostly eyes, too, dart in the direction of the concrete wall for a second.
After that conversation, you head back up to the tower and see that Keen is still standing beyond the wall, tapping her foot impatiently. You call down that you haven't found any map. She looks around, then squints up at you. "Yeah, well, that's because that was a bit of a lie, buddy. Can't believe you fell for it, honestly. If I had a map that pointed right to the gold, why wouldn't I have it already? But come on. There's supposed to be piles and piles--it can't be that hard to find. Hurry up, I don't want anyone seeing me out here."

[Balin]

Offer Allie the necklace. (Since we've already summoned Brian, we shouldn't need to use it for the summoning altar.)

Ask Jack & Allie what happens when they go over or through the wall.

[trebor]

Man, it's been a while since I was caught up on this one, but I've enjoyed reading the story since I last posted!

There are scratches in the middle of the concrete wall. Can we examine them? Are they deep enough that we can pull pieces of the wall apart? If we need to wet the concrete, we could grab either the bottle from the altar or a new one, fill it with water, and pour water on the scratches. Maybe doing that enough would help loosen the concrete? Let's also try using the knife to get some of it loose.

While we're at the scratches, let's ask the ghosts if they saw anyone hide the treasure, and if they can help us get it out. Jackson and Allie seem, heh heh heh, "keen" to help.

[irishelk]

Balin

Offer Allie the necklace. (Since we've already summoned Brian, we shouldn't need to use it for the summoning altar.) Her eyes sparkle with the reflected green stones on the jewelry, and she smiled mollified. "Very nice of you to retrieve that. Brian could never remember where he put it." Her hands go through yours as she lifts it up and puts it around her own neck. At first it looks like it's going to fall right through her, but she adjusts it and it remains around her insubstantial neck, floating in the air.

Ask Jack & Allie what happens when they go over or through the wall. "We just go to another place," Allie volunteers, shrugging. "Why don't you get some help, and we'll just show you?"


trebor

Man, it's been a while since I was caught up on this one, but I've enjoyed reading the story since I last posted! Good!

There are scratches in the middle of the concrete wall. Can we examine them? When you come closer, you see that they are in fact writing--uneven letters that have been scratched into the wall. Unfortunately, it looks like random gibberish: XLVII GER KIX CSY YT ERH HSAR.Are they deep enough that we can pull pieces of the wall apart? If we need to wet the concrete, we could grab either the bottle from the altar or a new one, fill it with water, and pour water on the scratches. Maybe doing that enough would help loosen the concrete? Let's also try using the knife to get some of it loose. The letters are barely scratched into the surface--it doesn't seem like enough to make a dent.

While we're at the scratches, let's ask the ghosts if they saw anyone hide the treasure, and if they can help us get it out. Jackson and Allie seem, heh heh heh, "keen" to help. Jackson shakes his head no. "No one's moved one bit of that gold since we've been here. I don't think anyone's found it before, have they?" Allie shrugs and shakes her head. "Not for lack of trying--Keen's sent several of you hunters in here before. But they generally scamper back into the sewer the minute one of us appears."

[Balin]

"Three can get you up or down."

Ask the ghosts to lift us up so we can see over the wall. (Keeping in mind that it'll take all four to get us up or down from the tower.)

[irishelk]

Balin

"Three can get you up or down."

Ask the ghosts to lift us up so we can see over the wall. (Keeping in mind that it'll take all four to get us up or down from the tower.) You make the request, and immediately Jonathan appears also, as if he was already listening in. Each of them put a ghostly hand on your shoulders, and though you can't feel their touch, you suddenly become light as a feather and start floating upward with them. It's a bizarre feeling, and you instinctively try to stand completely still. They lift you over the wall, and you can see...fog, mostly. Only a few feet beyond the wall, there is a massive cloud that blots out everything that may lie beyond. But then you look down at the ground beyond the wall, and you see nothing but gold.

Below you is an enormous mound of glittering gold, mostly nuggets of raw ore, but also plenty of coins and a few bars. Though there is no sunlight, the pile shines brilliantly. It seems to be stacked several feet off the ground. You've never seen so many riches in your life. What now?

[Acridian9]

Before asking the ghosts to bring us down to the gold, ask them about Cobalt (and if they are aware that Cobalt may have possessed them.)

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Before asking the ghosts to bring us down to the gold, ask them about Cobalt (and if they are aware that Cobalt may have possessed them.) Jonathan answers: "Yes...my memories of what happened that night we all died are pretty hazy, but I remember that the...thing that was controlling our thoughts was called Cobalt. I think it only told its name to me, right?" Allie and Jackson nod. "I never saw it, it was just a voice in my ear. And since then, I haven't heard it again. Hopefully it's gone for good."

[Balin]

Seeing as Cobalt is not noticeably present at the moment, let's plan ahead in case something goes wrong when on the other side of the wall, and let's talk this over with the ghosts. (Probably best to have the ghosts lower us down back into the garden so there's no need to shout.)

Immediate idea is: go up and over the wall, gather as much gold as possible (we have a Backpack of Holding thanks to Miranda), have the ghosts take us back over the wall, up to the tower, and have the ghosts lower us down from the tower and out of the property. Do the ghosts think that's a good plan?

What worries me is the likelihood that Cobalt will be either behind the wall or present when we make it back from behind the wall, as Miranda said he was awake, and he was a cheat and a murderer when alive, so I doubt he'll take kindly to our going after his gold.

A question for the ghosts: will escaping with the gold be enough to quiet Cobalt? Or can he still go after the ghosts when we aren't around?
Also, are the ghosts at rest at all in the mansion? If not, what would allow them to move on?

And thinking... we did leave the tower window open after talking to Keen, right? If not, go open it and leave it open.

(Also, I wonder if we should give the rest of the ghosts the things that belong to them - so the dress, the handkerchief, the... not sure Nate would want the shirt... the commonplace book, the necktie, and I can't remember if there are any more. Oh yes, the photo of the smiling man.)

[irishelk]

Balin

Seeing as Cobalt is not noticeably present at the moment, let's plan ahead in case something goes wrong when on the other side of the wall, and let's talk this over with the ghosts. (Probably best to have the ghosts lower us down back into the garden so there's no need to shout.) OOC: I'll let y'all rewind if anything goes horribly wrong, but I don't anticipate too much trouble. You're nearly there.

Immediate idea is: go up and over the wall, gather as much gold as possible (we have a Backpack of Holding thanks to Miranda), Glad you remembered! have the ghosts take us back over the wall, up to the tower, and have the ghosts lower us down from the tower and out of the property. Do the ghosts think that's a good plan? They look at one another shrug, and nod. "Sounds like a plan to me." Jackson says. "I honestly never thought anybody would ever find this old horde again...But I don't see why not. Yeah, take it, get rich!"

What worries me is the likelihood that Cobalt will be either behind the wall or present when we make it back from behind the wall, as Miranda said he was awake, and he was a cheat and a murderer when alive, so I doubt he'll take kindly to our going after his gold. Hm.

A question for the ghosts: will escaping with the gold be enough to quiet Cobalt? Or can he still go after the ghosts when we aren't around?
Also, are the ghosts at rest at all in the mansion? If not, what would allow them to move on? They all have to think about this for a minute (leaving you awkwardly hovering with their hands on your shoulder). Allie seems to speak for all of them. "Well, it would be nice if we could move on, I guess. I'd kind of given up on it. Mostly we just sleep, there's not much excitement around here. I always had the impression that it's Cobalt, whatever that is, that keeps us trapped here. But I don't think any of us know for sure." The men nod agreement.

And thinking... we did leave the tower window open after talking to Keen, right? If not, go open it and leave it open. Let's say it was open.

(Also, I wonder if we should give the rest of the ghosts the things that belong to them - so the dress, the handkerchief, the... not sure Nate would want the shirt... the commonplace book, the necktie, and I can't remember if there are any more. Oh yes, the photo of the smiling man.) You mention the idea, and Jonathan laughs. "Nah, we can get that stuff whenever we like. Allie was just being a spoiled princess by making you give her necklace back. Thanks, though."

[Balin]

Will the ghosts be able to hear if we say anything while on the other side of the wall? Ask them.

Assuming that's the case, the plan is: lower over the wall, load up on gold, have them lift us up to the tower, jump from the tower and have them lower us to the driveway.
So (assuming they will be able to hear us), let's try steps 1 and 2: have them lower us over the wall and start filling the backpack with gold.

[irishelk]

Balin

Will the ghosts be able to hear if we say anything while on the other side of the wall? Ask them. "Well I've never seen someone go over there before, but I don't see why not. We can stay right near you in case something happens."

Assuming that's the case, the plan is: lower over the wall, load up on gold, have them lift us up to the tower, jump from the tower and have them lower us to the driveway. Sounds reasonable.
So (assuming they will be able to hear us), let's try steps 1 and 2: have them lower us over the wall and start filling the backpack with gold. You land on the pile of gold, which shifts and clinks a little under your feet. You start shoveling ingots and coins and bars into the backpack, and sure enough--even through it's wearing out your arm to even move the heavy metal, as soon as it goes in the bag it seems to become weightless. It does appear to have some size limit, because you do see that it's filling up after a while, but you manage to get over half of that golden pile in there.

As you do, you think you hear something out in the formless mist that surrounds you, like a quiet laugh or murmur. You look around, but there's nothing to see. As you continue working, the sound gets louder, but still there is nothing around. Then, all of a sudden, it's a full-on voice speaking loudly in your head. It has the weird country accent of an old-timey prospector, but rather than being hilarious (as old-timey prospectors usually are), this one sounds cruel and fills you with a strange dread. It says, "Well, well, it looks like the cycle didn't end after all. Yippee! It took y'all a while, but here you are back, and gotten further than them other varmints ever did! Well yee-hah, pardner, I'm on for the ride, so let's see where we go to from here!"

That's all. Then the voice is gone, and you've got your gold!...Yay?

[Acridian9]

Let's take a good look around here (take any useful object we find), then ask the ghosts to lift us back into the garden.... and face Cobalt wrath!

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Let's take a good look around here (take any useful object we find), Nothing seems to be about but the gold beneath your feet and the eerie mist swirling around. You make sure to take some of each type of gold. then ask the ghosts to lift us back into the garden.... and face Cobalt wrath!
As the ghosts levitate you back over the wall, you wince and scrunch up, preparing for said wrath...and nothing happens. You land safely back in the gloomy garden. All you hear from that disembodied voice is, "Congratulations, you got the gold! You win. It's all yours. Treasure it. Keep it safe."

And then it chuckles quietly in a way you don't like at all.

[Acridian9]

Ask the ghosts what they know about Cobalt, in particular if he can move objects or harm in any way, and if they know how to break his possession. Take a look at the garden if something changed.
If there is nothing new, try to enter the house and take a quick look at downstairs rooms.

[irishelk]

Acridian9

Ask the ghosts what they know about Cobalt, in particular if he can move objects or harm in any way, and if they know how to break his possession. They don't seem to recognize the name, but when you explain what's going on, all three nod knowingly. "The voice," Jonathan says. "It made me do a lot of weird stuff around here, writing in code and stuff. That night, it showed me where the gun was, and told me that the only way to avenge Jack's death was by killing Brian."
"Aw, thanks for avenging me," Jack puts in.
"No problem."
Allie says, "And it convinced me that I had to kill Nate, or he'd kill me. Not that I disagreed at the time--" she glances at Jonathan. "No offense, you'd kind of snapped."
"None taken."
"Anyway, I've never seen this Cobalt guy or seen the voice move things. I've only heard it. And I haven't heard it since the night we died."
Take a look at the garden if something changed. No changes.
If there is nothing new, try to enter the house and take a quick look at downstairs rooms. Everything seems to be the same.
As you walk through the house, though, you hear a tiny whisper in your head: "Don't listen to them. They're trying to help her and prevent you from getting your fair share. I'm here to help. Don't trust anyone but me." Sounds reasonable enough.

[Balin]

"Ghosts usually don’t make a whole lot of sense, but they can never lie. Except the bad one. But you probably won’t meet him."

Yeah, Cobalt's the bad one, and he's definitely lying, and we've well and truly met him.

I picked up a toy car earlier... I'd like to put it back where I found it. While doing so, look through the upstairs rooms.

[Acridian9]

"Don't listen to them. They're trying to help[/i] her and prevent you from getting your fair share. I'm here to help. Don't trust anyone but me." [/b]

We can easily verify this. just ask the four ghosts.

[irishelk]

Balin

I picked up a toy car earlier... I'd like to put it back where I found it. While doing so, look through the upstairs rooms. You head upstairs and put the toy car back on the floor in the kid's bedroom. Everything seems to be as you left it. The ghosts float along behind you, and as you pass the altar you see the spirit of Brian hanging about.


Acridian9

"Don't listen to them. They're trying to help her and prevent you from getting your fair share. I'm here to help. Don't trust anyone but me."

We can easily verify this. just ask the four ghosts. They blink in puzzlement. Alex seems to speak for all of them: "Are we trying to help someone else get the gold? No, not at all. Honestly, we don't care too much about it one way or the other. You seem nice enough, why shouldn't you get it?"

[Balin]

Go back up the tower and open the window.

(I'm trying to decide if the thing to do here is make the ghost-assisted jump or alert Keen of Cobalt's presence. Hence, "open the window" to prepare for either, and see how Cobalt reacts.)

[irishelk]

Balin

Go back up the tower and open the window. When you open the window, Keen is already peering up at you, and she grins widely. "I can tell just by that look on your face that you found it, didn't you? Son of a--I can't believe it, finally it's all mine! I mean, all ours!" She jumps in the air for joy, but when she looks back up there's something a little harder about her smile. She pulls something out of her waistband. She's not pointing it at you, but you can make out the shape of a shotgun pretty easily, and she doesn't seem to be trying to hide it. "No way for you to make it all the way down here with that heavy load," she says ingratiatingly. "Maybe just toss it down here first, huh?"

In your ear, the old prospector's voice hisses, "See? I told you! They're all just out to take what's yours. You're all on your own, no one to trust--except me of course. But you're not defenseless, are you?"

And suddenly you feel your backpack move. It's wriggling as if something near the top is struggling to get out.

[Balin]

Look in the bag.

[irishelk]

Balin

Look in the bag. You unzip the top of your backpack, and the loaded gun practically jumps up and into your hand.

Below on the ground, Keen seems to notice that you have taken something out of your bag, though from this angle she probably can't see what it is. "Now don't be messin' around up there, just throw down what you got!" She raises the rifle just a little. "I remember bein' up there, I'm sure you've figured out there's a fancy way to jump down, but don't even think about comin' down here before you toss me that gold. I won't allow it."

Suddenly, a form materializes in the air in front of you, floating outside the window. It is an old man in a ragged shirt and denim, with a crooked leg and an even more crooked grin full of rotting teeth. He looks much more solid than the other ghosts, almost alive--except that he is standing in mid-air. "I done told you she was out to get you!" He screeches. "It's you or her! Get 'er!" The gun feels warm in your hand.

[Balin]

(Oh yeah, forgot about the gun.)

Gun has one bullet, right?

Since thinking is a free action:
-Cobalt's a big spooky liar.
-I do NOT want to shoot Keen.
-We didn't collect all the gold from behind the wall. It'd be possible to dump what we've got out the window then go back and collect more.
-Do we have any instructions or directions on dispelling or defeating ghosts? I can't think of anything we've got.
-meta: "Keen" is a great name and I want to know how you came up with it. (So's "Cobalt.")

Yell "I've met the bad one" out the window.

[irishelk]

Balin
(Oh yeah, forgot about the gun.)
Gun has one bullet, right? It does.


-Do we have any instructions or directions on dispelling or defeating ghosts? I can't think of anything we've got. Nothing.
-meta: "Keen" is a great name and I want to know how you came up with it. (So's "Cobalt.") Thank you! It's so long ago, I have no idea. If it was my usual mode of writing, they were the first words that popped into my head.

Yell "I've met the bad one" out the window. Keen stares at you for a moment, thinking about this, and you think you see something like pain or regret in her eyes. Then she raises the rifle with her eye to the scope. it's definitely, definitely pointed at you now. "Haven't we all," she replies with a hollow smile. She doesn't even command you to drop the gold this time, and you get the sneaking suspicion that even if you do, you won't be out of trouble.

Cobalt still stands in the air in front of you, as solid and real-looking as Keen. "Only one way out," he says, glancing down at her then nodding at your gun. "You know what to do."

[Balin]

Shoot Cobalt. (Make sure it's not at an angle where the bullet might penetrate through and hit Keen.)

[irishelk]

Balin

Shoot Cobalt. (Make sure it's not at an angle where the bullet might penetrate through and hit Keen.) Look at you, making my day like that.

You aim carefully ahead and fire a shot at Cobalt. It goes through without making a visible impact, but immediately his face contorts into the very picture of disappointed rage. "No!" He screams, so loud it makes your ears hurt. At once you are aware of the four ghosts standing beside and behind you, and they all cover their ears too. "No, you ain't playing the game right! You was supposed to kill her, then you bring somebody back here to kill you! Didn't you see the cycle? Didn't you see how perfect it was? You done ruined everything!" As he's screaming and stomping his feet in the air, he starts to fade and vanish. He doesn't realize he is disappearing until the last moment, and you see panic on his face for just a second before he is gone into the clear sunny daylight.

You (if I may assert control at this point) climb onto the ledge and, once all the ghosts seem to be holding on to you, you jump. It's a surreal, slow, almost relaxing fall down to the ground, where you and your stash of gold land beside Keen.

She has dropped her firearm and is staring at you in shock. "I have no idea why I did that--why I was acting that way! O' course I wouldn't shoot you, you just done all the hard work! Hey, listen, I'm sorry for trapping you in there and everything. For all your trouble, you should have the lion's share of the gold, 70-30. Well, how 'bout 65-35. Well--"

You assure her that you'll be happy to talk percentages, but that you should probably get the hell away from here and back to town first. She helps you carry the backpack bulging with gold, which seems to get heavier every step you take away from Golden Manor. Before you go down the hill, you take one last look back. You see four cloudy human-shaped figures flitting around the tower. As you watch, a couple of them seem to wave at you, and then they fly off in different directions. Looks like they finally got out of there too.


************THE END, SPOILER, FINITO, FINALLY DONE********************
I'm so happy
Thank you all for playing my long drawn-out game. Balin, Acridian, Trebor, Earnest, congratulations! Y'all are so clever!

[Acridian9]

Damn.... just got back from vacation and it's all over!

This was a really, really good one, hope to see more in the future.

I'm curious to know what actions may bring to a rewind in the story.... could you give me some hints?
Also, I'm a little bit disappointed that the grand final didn't involve the "useless, useless student ID"!

[trebor]

The end of a saga!

[Balin]

This was quite the adventure! Thanks so much for hosting it (and giving me a few ideas for DMing a campaign...)

[irishelk]

Thank you all so much, it would have been nothing without your great participation (and patience when I disappeared for weeks, struggling to finish my Master's. All done now!)

@Acridian9 - The main thing I was thinking was that if a player chose to shoot Keen, or to just jump at the end, that would have continued "the cycle"--which would have been cool, but I also wanted them to be able to rewind and get the good ending.
And lol at the ID card...I needed some kind of red herring. But if it had a purpose at the end, it wouldn't be a "useless, useless student ID"!

@Balin - I did consider halfway through that this would make a good D&D campaign, with a few more encounters and fantasy elements thrown in perhaps...help yourself to it!

[Jenny]

Well, I regret not participating in this, and I'd like to say that 'Cobalt' might actually not be so random. In German, They try to help their hosts, but turn malevolent if slighted, which is what happened here, as twisted as his 'help' was,
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobold)

(Also, is it wrong that I am now yearning to write an original story loosely based on this? With changed names, of course. Oh, I can just see it now 'A childishly malicious old codger entices a group of people into murdering each other'. It'd be a real hit!)