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 Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 9:53 pm
Welcome to The Masque of the Red Death!
Understand your life may never be the same again,
That you will likely not live through the tremendous pain,
From finding that which you would rather not,
But you have only this choice; fight or ...rot.
Edgar Allan Poe's masterpiece comes to life in this innovative game, where the players tell their own tales, whilst discovering the darkest recesses of Prospero's castle. They have been given the chance for Hope, redemption, and life, but if they wish to survive and grasp what is offered, they must fight mentally, and physically upward to the twelfth floor... for what rests in slumber now.... wakes for you.
Cast and Crew
Director - Laki Larian
Design and Surprises - Laki Larian and Iaki
Prospero/Red Death/ Various - Laki Larian
Gideon P. Shaw - Metanaito
Chastity Thigfield - Allocen
Elaine Redwood - Cherry Clocks (temp. Lady Majestueaux)
Roderick Baldwin - Wingless Fairy (temp. Laki, Cherry Clocks)
Roselani Losario - Harpsdesire??? (temp. Everyone?)
Carlotta Dalton-Brasket - Lady Majestueaux
Alexander Cyrus Sexton - ? (temp. Laki)
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 6:04 pm
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 6:15 pm
Character Profiles (In Order of Color)
Name: Gideon P. Shaw, who often goes by "Gideon" with his closest friends and "Shaw" with the Prince and those above him in rank.
Color: The Blue Room
Outfit: He wears a simple black jacket and black pants with a black top hat. His shirt is white and his vest is silver, which he only wears on special occasions, such as to parties. The vest is embroidered with many different swirling patterns that make it glisten from any angle you look at it. His white gloves have embroidered on them "GPS", his initials (but no one knows what the P stands for). He himself is a graceful-looking man, very slim and well-poised, with naturally golden-brown hair that looks out of place with his outfit. He is fairly pale, and has bright green eyes which stand out from his costume.
The strangest thing about his entire outfit is the masquerade mask - it is black, with painted white musical notes and symbols all over it, and small diamonds all around the edge of the mask. In fact, if you look close enough, the notes painted are actually the first twenty measures of his first song that he ever wrote, which is still very popular music. Though he does not believe in such trivialities, he kindly accepted this very expensive mask as a gift from the Prince as payment for a string quartet piece that was made specifically for the Prince.
Personality: Gideon P. Shaw is the personal composer of Prince Prospero, and had to come to the party by order of the Prince (and also to see his newest party music played for the first time). He became a musician at age fifteen, and on his sixteenth birthday his first work - "Piano Concerto in G Major" - was published.
Gideon was raised in a fairly poor household, and is generally disgusted with well-to-do finery and lavish gifts. He rarely accepts anything but money as payment for his services unless it comes from the Prince, because you never insult a Prince. He lives in a big house, but invited his father and mother, his eldest and youngest sisters, and his little brother to stay there. He takes good care of them and adores his family for supporting him throughout his musical career. He is not married, but hopes to find a woman who loves him just as much as he loves her.
He was drawn to the blue room because not only does it provide beautiful acoustics, but it has a myriad of various musical instruments, and provides solace from the extravagance of the party outside. He closed the door and invites anyone in who wishes to enter, but asks that they be quiet so he can compose another piece. His beautiful music is heard from the outside, but to enjoy the true beauty of the piece one must enter to hear it properly.
Hello my name will be Chastity Thigfield.
I choose the purple room.
Outfit: She has never learned the art of dressing for sophistication as she grew up as a commoner and has never had the elegant things of those of the upper class. Dressed in a simple gown the color of cream, she stand awkwardly in the beautiful sage green shoes that she borrowed from her mistress, well I guess she isn't borrowing them anymore. Her hair is done up as she would have any other day, a tight bun at the back of her head unadorned with trinkets and gems. Around her neck, hanging by a pink ribbon, sits a crudely crafted charm made out of a claw found by her young Master. Placed upon her face is a white porcelain mask featuring only the warmest, kindest, most loving smile one has ever seen. The only other feature on this mask is the uncanny resemblance of the eyes to something not quite human.
Bio: Kindness and warmth. Warmth has been ingrained into her being from growing up in a rather large family. Kindness to others is what is left after experiencing thing that, if any other person experienced, would harden and chill hearts and feelings. Being the middle child in a family of 5, two sisters above her, two brother below her and all of them starving because her father could not make enough, forced the start of her working life early. Working first as a maid and house cleaner she first saw the lavish life that the classes above hers lead. However, even though no one in these wonderful houses ever starved or seemed to suffer she still worked as if the true joy in life was poverty. If one were to look at her hands they can still see the calluses and scars that all the scrubbing and cleaning chemicals left behind. It is though this job that she met the Iragards and ultimately met Adam. She was working as a house keeper when Mrs. Iragard became pregnant with a son by name of Adam. Because she was so personable and created a sense of ease when she was around Mr. Iragard personally chose her to nanny and take care of the young master. She cared for him as if he was her son and as the young boy grew in size he surely grew in Her heart. That was up until the Red Death. The Iragards were in the first wave of deiced, one by one they died and because Chastity was so warm and loving and because Adam was the first to pass on they left all they had to her. She was there at all their deaths helping them to pass, but for some reason the red death had over looked her and her true family has passed away by now. New in her wealth, she was invited to the Princes Party and happily accepted the invitation. She now sits in the purple room confused and out of place but still wearing the wonderfully warm and loving smile she is known for.
Name: Elaine Redwood.
Color: Green.
Outfit: Elaine. Her dress is sweeping elegance in a delicate pale cream, decorated with countless ruffles and ribbons in a light green. Elaine's pale skin and doll-like face make her seem fragile, a look that is offset by the angry frown she most often wears. Her eyebrows are carefully shaped and plucked to accentuate her annoyed expression. Her chocolate-coloured hair, immaculately styled and beribboned, is dusted with a sparkling green powder. Her eyes are a green so pale as to be almost colourless.
With a different mask, Elaine would not be incredibly exceptional - simply another guest at the masquerade. But her mask is what sets her apart from the others. Perched on her head and leaving a spiraling veil of green webbing over her hair, her mask is an incredibly lifelike imitation of a venomous green spider. Trimmed with emeralds, her disturbing mask lends her an air of menace that would not usually be present in such a young woman.
Personality: Elaine demands to know all she can. It is knowing about everyone else that has brought her to the position she is in today. She spends as much time as possible gathering information about people, to use to her own advantage when the time is right. It was this need for knowledge that drew her to the Green Room - for it is when people try to seem intelligent that they reveal the most about themselves. Revealing anything about herself is something Elaine is very careful not to do.
Elaine seems to be the picture of perfection. She is beautiful, elegant, everything a young lady should be. But behind the carefully constructed facade is a ruthless, cunning, cold-hearted woman who serves only herself. She has broken many hearts and ruined many lives, but shows no remorse for it. Why should she? No one would suspect that she played any part in it. Besides, she was someone different then. Nothing connects her to the girl she used to be - except, perhaps, for a thirst for knowledge... and a certain similarity to spiders.
And indeed Elaine is very similar to a spider. For she too is venomous and deadly, and she draws those near her into her web, a web of knowledge, lies and deceit.
Knowledge is power. Elaine knows this better than anyone. But power... power corrupts.
Name: Roderick Baldwin
Color: Orange Room
Outfit: His tailcoat falls nearly to his ankles, far longer than such a coat normally would, though despite this it fits his frame well enough; it is made of a smooth red fabric of a shade so dark as to seem black except upon exceedingly close inspection. His dark grey button-up pinstripe dress shirt is also of an above average length, covering up a bit of his white silk pants - starkly different in their plainness of color and design from the rest of his outfit, but that contrast is why he wore them. He also has pitch black dress shoes, and an ascot tie about his neck. His mask appears to be a combination of two masks, split straight down the middle: on his left pure black with many small colorful feathers coming off the side, on his right, white with silver sequins and, to the side, three large orange feathers. He is of an average height, and his light brown hair has been styled into slight layers.
Personality: More than a little arrogant and narcissistic, Roderick comes from a family that has been rich so long, none of the currently living members are exactly certain how they came to be so - thus he grew up with a huge sense of entitlement, and finds it rather annoying when things don't go his way. He derives an almost perverse pleasure from consistently doing nothing but those things which lead to his direct enjoyment, and often shrugs off responsibility and, occasionally, manners. After wandering through the previous rooms briefly but finding no reason to remain within them, he decided to stay in the Orange Room because the people within it seemed the most interested in actually having fun. He is generally aware of the distaste those members of society who consider themselves proper have for him, but he is much more conscious of that he keeps getting invited to parties anyway.
Name: Roselani Losario
Color: White Room
Outfit: Her flowing dress of snow-white silk falls in graceful lines, skimming her full curves. Delicate embroidery on the bodice incorporates fluttering petals of silk, creamy pearls and small, twinkling gems. This pristine, pale canvas is a perfect foil for her exotic coloring-- glossy raven hair, long-lashed dark-chocolate eyes and smooth skin the color of very milky tea. Her dark hair is painstakingly formed into an elaborate up-do with more pearls, gems, white satin roses and snowy feathers woven in. On her rounded, rosy cheeks, a graceful mask sits. It too is white and sparkling, and forms a small beak at the nose, in the aspect of a dove.
Personality: Roselani is a young woman of great innocence. She was raised from birth in a lonely castle far from the bustle of the city and the political scheming of the courts. Although she is 18, a woman of marriageable age, in her heart she is still very much a child: naive, unaffected and playful. An eternal optimist, she seems unable to comprehend that others might wish her any harm, seeing the world through rose-colored glasses, as it were. She is endowed with straight, white teeth (a rarity in the English courts) and an enchanting smile, but lacks the biting wit and ability to subtly manipulate others that is prized among the nobility. Although she is smart enough, her education in the ways of the world is sorely lacking, leading her into many a faux pas and awkward moment.
Her father, despairing of her ability to attract an advantageous marriage, sent her far from home to the court of the English Prince. Where better to get a crash course in deception and intrigue? Despite her relocation, Roselani remains guileless, bubbly, sweet, and a terrible judge of character.
Name: Carlotta Dalton-Braskett
Color: Violet
Outfit: Rippling ruffles and fringing in eye-catching red and gold outline draping fabrics covered with bright patterns of birds, and keys, and coins. It is a full skirt, with a soft bustle and deep purple brocade bodice. There are few jewels on the dress itself, drawing all the more attention to the elaborate lacey pattern of the gold collar around her neck, and matching bracelet. The collar is interspersed with red jewels, focusing on one huge, central amethyst. Carlotta's pale colouring, with light-blonde hair and smoky grey eyes, offsets the bright colours of her costume, and her mask is that of a bird, a brightly-feathered purple and red affair, with a small gold beak curving over her curled smile. Her hair is done up simply, into a low bun, though still looks delightful.
What is she exactly? No one really knows, and all she will say is that she is a bird who cannot fly.
Personality: Carlotta is most accurately compared to a sparkling jewel - beautiful, mesmerising, cold, hard. On the outside she is a perfect social butterfly, never slipping up, always saying the most delightful things, telling the most engaging stories. She draws people to her, and surrounds herself with a swathe of friends who, nonetheless, know very little of her personal life. Carlotta makes the rounds of all the most desirable parties in London, sits at the side of many of the most reputable socialites, but never throws an assembly of her own. She puts people at ease with her charming demeanor and beautiful manners, but is surprisingly reticient about herself. Though friendly and appealing, Carlotta is an extremely unlikeable person underneath all the glitter and pomp of parties. She has no real interests, no hidden depths, and surrounds herself with elaborate riches and high-status personages in an attempt to find happiness. And she is happy, in a dull, hollow way. She is happy pulling people toward her, keeping them around her to protect her from the reality of herself. She hides behind this lovely mask, fearful of the nothingness she holds in her heart, searching for freedom without knowing what holds her down.
This was the attraction of the Violet room - so similar to herself. Drawing people in, filling itself with beauty and life, though under all that, all it was just an empty room, consuming and consuming all this life and never able to give anything back.
Name: Alexander Cyrus Sexton
Outfit: As strange and slightly impossible as it seems, Alexander favours a subtly opulent style. His outfit looks deceivingly plain, until the second glance reveals details about his status. While the black velvet trousers, short-tailed jacket and waistcoat are pretty common wear for the upper middle class or the lower upper class, the elaborate gold-thread embroidery on these articles are not. Neither is it very usual that this embroidery is only visible at a certain light-angle, or that it consists largely of ancient celtic runes. The shirt he wears underneath his waistcoat is made of a blue silken material, silk that costs not money but houses. The shiny boots that he has donned are the type in which you can see your own reflection should you happen to be close enough, and they would not make a single sound no matter how hard he stamped his feet. Alexander isn't a big fan of jewelry, but even he could not resist wearing a necklace. Sapphire gems adorn his neck entwined and embraced by fine golden threads as if in a lovers' embrace, and they compliment the simple golden ring on his left index finger. And finally, his mask completes the whole ensemble. Made of velvet once again, the piece is decorated by shimmering blue reptile scales, sapphire gems, black & white feathers and gold-thread embroidery. Unlike most of his fellows, he does not wear a top hat for he feels that such an article would not compliment his black curly locks, however feminine that might sound.
The red light from the black room makes the blues on him something between violet & purple and it adds a slightly insane look to his (you guessed it) blue eyes. It also makes his pale face look gaunt and haunted, though he does not seem to mind this overly much.
Personality: As one of the Prince's advisors, Alexander has always been smooth with words. He wouldn't have been able to stay at long at his Prince's side were it not for his slippery tongue that spoke whichever the Prince wanted to hear, and that managed to turn whatever he did not want to hear into things which he did not mind so much to hear. Cynical, sarcastic and witty are three words which probably describe him best. He goes by the saying "Festina Lente", literal translation of this being "Hurry Slowly". However, Alexander is usually a busy man (in his own words, he doesn't "have time to hurry") and this ball is an opportunity for him to relax a bit. Of course he's still watching out for what other people are thinking or saying so that he might relay these words to his Prince, but right now he isn't concentrating 100% on it. To him, being the black room is ideal because only the most bold and daring (or rather: foolhardy) people care and dare to come in here. It always makes for such amusing conversation to talk with people who speak before they think.
((Character profiles may be revised lightly.))
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 6:19 pm
Powers and Curses Blue You have the ability to approach nearby sources of light, and literally take them. By taking the light from its source and holding it as a sphere in your hands, you can move it elsewhere. But you must do this quickly, for light is strong when condensed, and can start to burn… When you do take a light from, per say, a window, that window will be forever dark unless its light is brought back to it, or it is brought a new light. Light can infuse into an object, and illuminate with the same power as it had at its original source. Light stays the same color at all times though, no matter where it’s moved. Shadows seem to come to life when you’re in pitch darkness… Did something just hiss your name, brush past your leg, grab your hair…!?! No one else seems to perceive this terror! Purple Every time you see a human face, something inside of you flares, the humanity melts away, and you become a powerful hyena-like beast. Though still able to stand on two feet, you now will bare sharpened claws, glistening fangs, bristling fur, hunting eyes, and an unimagined strength. You feel more ferocity, and less fear. Unfortunately, in this state, you can no longer form human words, though you can still think them in your mind… (A face is: people without their masks, paintings or drawings that are very realistic, human ghosts with uncovered faces, or humanoid ghouls that are not shrouded either. A face is not: animals, a dead human skull, or rough sketches/doodles.) (I will decide when you change back since I control time, and it’s timed to about 10 minutes. This ‘ten-minute timer’ is separate from any manipulation of the Clock. The Clock will be explained below.) When you do see a face, you will be put into an immediate frenzied state, and will feel almost entirely compelled to destroy that face. This frenzy will last for around 2 minutes (you can be responsible for this, but if it goes on too long, I will mention.), but as mentioned before, you will still be stuck as a creature for another 8 minutes, totaling about 10. Also, as a human, you have slightly greater strength then you did before the beginning of these strange events. Green You now have the ability to communicate mentally with any person, anywhere, in Prospero’s twisted castle. The further away that person is, the greater the amount of concentration will need to be to reach them. You also have a more prone mind to some of the more logically based puzzles (You can PM me for hints if you wish. My level of helpfulness may vary, though.). The dark side of this ability comes within the power; for now that you can communicate in thoughts to anyone in the castle, the one ‘person’ who is not affected by distance, the Red Death itself, may whisper into your mind… and if it does, what madness might you face? (This takes effect after you ‘open the lines of communication’, or basically have your first mental conversation with someone.) Also, you can sense very strong emotions or thoughts from anyone in the castle at any time, though you might not be sure who is thinking or feeling it. Orange Your sight has been taken, and you are left utterly blind… at least, utterly blind in the physical sense. Your mind has a new eye, a map and compass. You know the architecture of the floor you’re on, and know the general position of other people on this floor, the one above, and the one below. You are also able to determine who the people are, if you know their ‘sense’ well enough. A disadvantage to this power, a part of the blindness, is that your mental map will not show you anything that can be moved/is not part of the solid foundation of the castle. Therefore, although you may believe you are heading towards a flight of stairs, you will actually be heading for a wall concealing the stairs which hasn’t been activated to move. (I will PM you secret messages correlating with certain positions of the map for your floor; this will be like your version of the true map (a.k.a. without fake walls and such) and it will be your intuition.) White You are now the healer, or ‘mender’, and can fix anything which is similar to these examples: cuts, broken bones, shattered glass, chopped objects, or torn paper. You cannot heal anything similar to: headaches, other aches, deformities, burnings, or anything no longer in its original state (solid into liquid, for example). Your curse; any strenuous physical tasks will induce arthritis-like symptoms, and healing anything large will cause you great mental fatigue (trying to heal something like a bridge would cause you to faint). Violet You have been given the gift and curse of gravity. You can focus on one thing (object, door, creature, person) and change its direction in gravity. Normal gravity is “pull down”, but you can creates pulls up, north, south, east, west, north-east, south-east, ect… If you change your object of focus, the original object will return to normal “pull down” gravity. The curse: If any of the other guests are in the same room, hallway, or open space as you when the Clock begins to strike the hour, those other guests’ curses will be activated. Blue- will seemingly be swarmed by teasing shadows Purple- will turn into the beast (if they haven’t already) and go wild and vicious Green- will hear everyone’s thoughts all at once Orange- nothing happens White- becomes extremely faint Black- someone random will be teleported to the next floor up (explained below) The Clock Before the Black power can be revealed, I must first explain the clock. Our tale begins at eight, and in a vague, yet solid, premonition, all the guests stuck into the alternate reality know that a great terror will emerge from the Clock at twelve midnight. As we do begin at eight in the evening, there appears to only be 4 hours to traverse the entire castle. But these four hours are actually there to be manipulated, like a game of tug-of-war more than a slowly draining hourglass. The tug-of-war will be between you guests, and the Red Death. The Red Death will attempt to move the Clock forward if a puzzle is answered incorrectly, logic is broken, or some other mystery event takes place. The Clock also moves forward on it’s own at natural speed (which I control). Another thing to mention is, like the original story, the Clock’s striking of the hour causes strange feelings (and events in our cases) of unease (epitomized by the Violet curse). Black You have the ability to turn back the Clock by going to the Black Chamber itself, or any of the rooms directly above it. You can only do this after the Clock has finished striking nine; any time before this would jump the Clock back to before eight, restarting the entire story all over again. If you use your power at 9:45, the Clock will go back to 8:00. If it’s 11:21, time will go back to 10:00. Basically, you and the Red Death affect the hour hand, making it go forward or backward to 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12, ignoring the natural progression of the minute hand. When you turn the hour back, you will do this without activating the “DONG” sound of the hour being struck, therefore avoiding any events or curses that would activate at the sound. Also, when the Clock begins to strike the hour, if you can make it back to the Black Chamber before the “DONG”s end, you can force the hands back to the previous hour, without activating your usual curse. But this trick may not be practical or possible the further you get from the Black Room. Your curse is that every time you use your power to turn back the clock to the past hour, any of the other six guests on the same floor will be randomly selected (I will roll a dice) to appear in a random location on the next floor up. Rules and Tips • It is possible to die in this game! But it will be quite easy to stay alive if you pay attention to what everyone else has written. • Work together! It has been made so your individual characters are useless without each other, (and it’s also more engaging to explore and think with friends, or maybe constructive enemy…) Everyone is needed! • No breaking the laws of physics or logic. For example, if there is a clearly described chasm in a hallway floor, the Red Death has the right to push the clock forward an hour if anyone “magically” skips over it. Besides those sorts of thing, always remember your curse! • There are twelve floors in this alter-castle, and you are trying to get to the twelfth, starting at the first (with the colored rooms and Clock in the Black room). But remember, you are responsible for what your character does or doesn’t know, so even though all of YOU can look at the map, only the Orange CHARACTER knows it. And then, Orange only knows the floors they’ve been to. Your character can’t know something someone else does unless they’re told or figure it out, and they won’t know their powers until you or I have something happen so that they will discover them. • The flow of the game will require many posts by everyone, so try to keep the elapsed actions within each of your posts down to a worth of 15 minutes at the most. This will give me time to describe revealed objects, floors, and rooms, as well as give everyone a chance to interact with you. • When it’s a new hour, 9:00 for instance, naturally or by the Red Death’s power, I’ll post a “DONG” to start. Every post after mine MUST respond to the noise, and may even describe what happens to their character for all (in this case nine) “DONG”s , if they’re alone. Everyone must react at least a little. If someone tries to do something, like the Black character tries to sprint down into the Black room to force the Clock’s hands back, I will post the appropriate amount of “DONG”s after them to show how long they’re taking. • If you go up or down a floor, that ends your post. Someone else must write something before you can go again, and if it’s an undiscovered floor, I must describe it first. A post from me counts. • I do have predetermined story/puzzles/rooms for this, but you can add description to rooms, objects, or other things as long as you’re clear. I might just say “a cluttered office” sometime to leave some creativity to you. Who knows, you might just add something which will cause an even greater experience! • Before you post, make sure to check for any new messages in your inbox! I might PM you something for your character to notice. That way, you can present the surprise instead of me posting it dryly where everyone can see razz . • Everything should be written in past-tense, third-person. Don’t worry about shifting into second-person occasionally, and obviously dialogue is first-person, but it will help flow greatly if everyone maintains a similar “book-style”. • Lastly, please present puzzle answers in-character.
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 6:33 pm
The Adventure so far....
Prospero's ball was going brilliantly, until the chimes of the great black clock washed almost every guest away, into the oblivion of shadow. Now the few who remain gaze about them in horror at the castle's 'true' state. Deformed through and through, there appear to be no exits, no escapes, only a continual path leading up, up, toward the final floor. What secrets lie about openly that were once hidden? What happened to the other guests? And can the party keep the Red Death from emerging out of the ebony clock and extinguishing them as well?
The group of seven, now aware that each member has a bizarre ability bestowed upon them, have managed to discover the way to the second floor. But all is not well it seems... Alexander, adviser to Prince Prospero, does not recognize the strange layout of the floor, and the ornate doorknobs which don each door. There are no stairs to be seen in the halls, so it assumed that exploration of the dark rooms will be necessary....
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 6:49 pm
Puzzle recap: Doorknobs
D1: 7 Sectioned
D2: Stained Glass
D3: no knob (so it won't open)
D4: Moon
D5: Normal round brass
D6: Fan Shaped
D7: Apple
D8: Clock-face (but door won't open)
D9: Eye
Door open when they have THESE knobs on them. But they are not the Final knobs. The Final knobs will unlock what you need to go to the third floor. To know what goes on what door, you have to explore the rooms. If you put the wrong doorknob on a door, they ALL lock. You can only remove a doorknob if the door is closed.
Action recap:
Shaw: Was examining artifact room. I described it in GREAT detail, but I don't know if I'll do that again, so I hope you got to read that post before it vanished Meta?
Chastity: is heading back downstairs to get candles.
Elaine: is observing the second floor, approving Chastity's plan, and noticing the doorknobs.
Roderick: is waiting for someone to say something to him, I suppose. cheese_whine And Clocks, (whatever your name is on here) you mentioned you enjoyed playing him, so while Wingless is busy, would you like to play him? Whenever you don't I will.
Roselani: was going to help Chastity with getting candles, but got distracted. She discovered the doorknobs are removable and replaceable.
Carlotta: was enjoying the decorative doorknobs, and... oh shoot. I forget XD.
Alexander: Hasn't been posted for on Floor 2 yet. I'll play him for the time being.
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 4:59 pm
(( Woot First post in the new RP!!! I can't wait to get this started again.))
Chastity moved down the stares as quickly but as safely as she could. Once reaching the tiled floor of the ball room she began to collect all the candles that she could find and setting them near the stares, after a while of gathering, the pile had become rather large, larger then what Chastity could carry tucked in her now tattered gown. Quickly she ran into the blue room and grabbed the nearest pillow and began to take the stuffing out, Once empty she fastened a bag out of it. Once all the candles that chastity could find were in the newly made bag, she started up the stares, only to stop after a few steps. Remembering what happens to her clothes when she transformed she quickly ran back into the blue room and, using one of the beautiful drapes, made a cloak to clover herself if… when she would find herself without clothes. Once finished she headed back to the group.
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 6:30 pm
Alexander was stunned. He had lived in this castle for many years serving his majesty, and had never seen an area such as this. The others felt less shaken by the castle's transformation it seemed, likely because they had not wandered every hall with meticulous observation in their near seven months here as he had in his entire stay. Now the world was foreign, and he no longer knew the ways through the darkness and hidden corners.
The doorknobs were a fascinating thing, for this strange new incarnation they took on was unfamiliar to Alexander. The door they had all just entered through, the one leading back downstairs, had a knob reminiscent of a flower, with a spherical center and five extended petals. His brow creased in thought as he touched it. Lady Redwood suggested the doorknobs probably would lead them to the next floor, and closer to their goal. "I concur," Alexander commented, watching Shaw lean through the doorway of the room Chastity opened. Said madam passed him purposefully, heading back down the stairs for more candles, she said. Roselani was about to follow her, but stopped to examine the normal brass knob (D5) she was near. After seeing her accidentally remove it, then, in a panic, reattach it, Alexander was positive the doorknobs would be crucial in continuing upwards.
Curious as to why Sir Shaw did not follow Miss Thigfield downstairs, he sauntered over to the open room to take a look inside himself.
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 12:52 am
|| GAH I AM POSTING THE NIGHT BEFORE A THEATRE PERFORMANCE. But um yay for Carla? 8D
Also I don't remember where she was, so she'll be near door 9 then. ||
Unaware too greatly of what the others were doing (for some reason the new floor led Carlotta to experience strange light-headedness, though perhaps she was simply imagining it) the fire-ruffles of Carlotta swept their way up the corridor the group was congregating in. She was feeling rather restless, and with a strange sense of uselessness. There seemed nothing for her to do, to add some wit or brilliance of reply. Not a creative person, she was sure to be of no use in this puzzle-solving, and though educated, she was by no means as intelligent as some.
It was so that a great sigh shifted her shoulders, as Carlotta aimlessly hovered further and further into the reaches of the dark hallway. Although, here was yet another door, and another of those charming knobs. She had only gotten a glimpse of faint outlines when she peeped into the opened room the others gathered round, but she was almost sure it was something lovely - or at least something to occupy her. Decisively, Carlotta grasped the eye-knob and turned it.
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 12:10 pm
Gideon heard his dearest lady friend come back, and moved out of everyone else's way to reach Chastity. "Welcome back, milady. What precisely did you go downstairs for?" When the lady opened the bag for him and showed him all of the candles she had collected, he immediately caught on to her train of thought. Taking two candles out of the bag, he placed them on the floor, standing straight up, because he did not see any tables in the vicinity. He slowly drew out the blue flame from one candle, split the light in two, and placed it in another candle. Then he realized the problem - the more he spread out the light, the dimmer the light became.
He heard the voices start up again, and he very quickly grabbed the two lit candles and stood, leaving the unlit candle for the beastly shadows to take if they so wanted. At least the shadows seemed to remain on the floor - if they somehow gained the ability to float in mid-air, THEN he would be in big trouble. "I believe we will either need to stay in groups of three or four, or find more light. I can't just keep dividing this light up - we shan't be able to see very well!"
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:10 pm
Seeing Shaw's obvious fright at the sudden dimming of light Chastity gave him a caring look.
"A lack of light would certainly defeat the purpose of getting extra candles. I think splitting up into groups would be a wonderful solution. So who wishes to go with whom? I believe that I should go with shaw because I carry the candles, and if by chance we run into a source of light we can then create more usable lighting from it." That reason seemed logical enough, though truthfully Chastity just wanted a chance to talk to the composer more.
Chastity smiled and picked up the bag, which was set on the floor, and the unlit candle.
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 7:15 pm
The artifact gallery became a black abyss of a room once more when Shaw ran to Chastity's side. Alexander stopped and leaned against the doorway with his shoulder, facing the rest of the party. Lady Chastity made her comment about spliting into groups, and grateful someone in group besides himself was serious about solving the castle's mystery, he said, "Indeed, that seems a most intelligent course of action, Miss Thigfield. Sir Shaw, yourself, and Miss Carlotta should probably..."
His words trailed off into the dust as he realized Carlotta was nowhere in sight. Had she wandered away while the others had all been pre-occupied with the various doors? "Actually, we should probably locate our missing member first and foremost." The others looked wildly about, all except Roderick, who was sitting squarely on the hall rug, as silent as the grave. Alexander squinted at the despicable man, whose blindness usually gave him cause to whine and complain until every person within earshot was forced to think some horrendous wish upon him. But for once, he seemed perfectly content in his disability, a demonic grin stretched across his face.
Before any of the other remaining party could conceive the reason, Alexander stalked quickly over to Roderick, and thrust him up onto his feet by his jacket collar. The blind man gasped in dismay. "Oy! What the hell are you doing?!?" Alexander still had the man's collar, and he gave him a very precise shake backwards before speaking. "I think you know rather well, Sir Baldwin. If you choose to behave in your own interests by keeping the rest off us at your mercy when we need your ability, which may be rather urgent in the future, no one will be here to help you. Understand? We cannot afford your arrogance if we are all to survive."
Roderick gaped, and shook his head, "I-I, of course not. Now put me down, you scoundrel!" Alexander, pleased, released Roderick and backed away a step. "So where is dear Miss Dalton-Braskett, my friend?" His tone was still decisively threatening, but Roderick considered it best to comply after Alexander's preceding statement. He rubbed his neck briefly, then pointed toward the east end of the hall. "There's only one room down that way, rather large, and she's just entered inside."
( With Carlotta): The large door swung open without any resistance, opening into a grand space. The Library was shaped architecturally as a hexagon, with vertical rows of books shelves spaced evenly throughout. The ceiling was high, almost the height of the ballroom, and it shared it's cream-colored marble with the walls. From each point of the hexagon emerged a ceiling arc, joining together in the center to support a massive, dangerously tilting, gold candelabra.
The floor was comprised of tiled dark stones polished smooth, with a circular center design. Taking up the diameter of three people laying head to toe, the design was a bizarre picture of seven snakes slithering away from the center, where the tips of there tails lay hopelessly tangled together. Between the snakes the sections of the circle were filled with various colors and designs gilded on the edges.
Up against the back, or most eastern wall, was a final bookshelf, flanked by enormous stained glass windows. These windows lit the room brilliantly, as the candelabra did not actually have any candles on it. The stained glass wasn't truly stained though; the foggy, yellowed glass was simply set like a disorderly stained glass design, but held no trace of color, previous or current. The bookshelf was just a imposing as the rest, at least five times Carlotta's height. But it's reach was even greater with the strange item of furniture that sat upon it. An ugly, shambled desk sat alone up there, it's drawers pulled open, it's legs badly beaten.
As Carlotta's eyes came down from the desk, she discovered what lay below it. On the floor a few feet away from this final bookshelf was a broken wooden ladder. Something red shimmered along it's vertical siderails...
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Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:43 pm
Roselani was startled from her contemplation of the removable knobs by a sudden light flooding into the otherwise dim hallway. Was it from Chastity’s return with the candles? No, the source of the illumination was from within the room that Carlotta just opened, a room with an unsettling eyeball doorknob.
Curiosity compelled her to leave the plain door and go to join the socialite at the brighter room. “How very lovely!” She gasped appreciatively as she looked into the library. It was strange, intriguing, and very beautiful to her eye. Best of all was the fact that natural light seemed to be streaming in through a large window, comforting and cheery. At least, she found it comforting until she realized with dismay that it was after 7 o’clock at night, and most certainly should be dark outside. All at once the library’s exotic flair took on a tone of the ominous.
With more caution, she moved further into the room, going out of her way to walk around, rather than on, the rather too lifelike snakes in the floor’s center. The yellowed and distorted glass was too flawed to see through, disappointingly obscuring any view outside. “Stained glass… with no stain.” She murmured, looking around for any other useful details of the room.
Suddenly, two things occurred to her: For one, Mr. Shaw might take the brightness from this window, allowing them brighter portable light. For another, she faintly recalled that one of the oddly removable doorknobs was made of stained glass, reminiscent of the ….non-stained-glass window. In her excitement she nearly failed to express these realizations to her companions. Instead, what came out was an excited squeal accompanied by somewhat unladylike jumping up and down.
“Chastity, dear, do come in here and see the lovely library!” She called in the direction of the door. “Perhaps Mr. Shaw might light your candles from here.” She ran lightly back to the doorway and smiled down the hall, further illuminating the area with her enthusiasm.
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Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 7:37 pm
Hearing Roselani's words about the library (never mind that they were not directed to her; Elaine was always at fault of listening to everything that she should not, perhaps, be paying quite so much attention to) Elaine was instantly rather alerted. The library, that seat of great knowledge in which she had spent a large amount of her time. Never mind that, she also might be able to find her journal, hoping that it had fallen beneath a table or some such. Of course, she could not quite remember that this was the place the library had been in before, but surely it would have to be the same room she had spent much of her time in.
Carla blinked slightly as the door opened, her eyes being rather used to the distinct lack of light in the corridors outside. She did not question the brightness of the light, but instead strode forward, intent on looking around. The magnificence of the room did not fail to have its effect on the Lady, and she was drawn by something of an enchantment to the bright windows, and at their centre, the lone bookcase. She wondered, too, if there might not be something to aid the strangeness of their plight in that desk that sat upon the case.
As she walked forward, her attention was also drawn to the tiled snakes beneath her feet. Standing upon the very centre, the disorganised shamble of snake-tails covered by half a metre of ruffled brocade, Carlotta raised her eyes to the candelabra hanging precariously so high above her. She could not repress a shudder at the dizzying height of the gold creation.
Footsteps behind her: Miss Roselani swept into the room, before leaving the doorway, presumably to return to their companions. Then a set of rather more restrained steps, and Elaine entered. She did not notice Carla, or at least not at first, instead entering the room with brisk confidence and pacing before some of the bookshelves, gently tracing a cover here and there.
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Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 4:22 pm
The ladder that lay crippled on the floor before the towering center bookcase flashed along its mysterious red shimmering siderails with each body that entered the room. It was as if it was beckoning to them to come closer...
With Elaine: The bookshelves seemed to have an odd, warped quality to them, as if they had been soaked in too much water. Indeed, the warping could be proven as not a figment of the imagination, because the books themselves were forced to cram together inescapably in paces, while tilting away from one another in others. Some areas of the shelves would have been too tightly packed to have any hope of removing a tome without damaging a book beside it. Also, it appeared the color of the books' spines coordinated with the design on the center flooring. The seven sections of color between the snakes held rule over all the books that would lie in their extended radius. In other words, if the circle with the snakes were to fill the entire library floor, the books would be fit to match. But amongst immediate matters of importance, it was clear; the journal was nowhere in sight.
Alexander nodded to all of his companions, whom could see, at Miss Roselani's words. They were directed at Chastity, but it seemed rather ridiculous to abide by manners in the current situation. He stalked attentively down the brightened eastern hall, and stopped before entering to examine it from this first vantage point. Yes, it was the library. And yes, something was terribly amiss. As many times as he had seen it, the library had never held any trouble with writing desks suddenly resting upon the bookshelves, nor had the snakes been included in the design on the floor. "Everything has transformed," his thoughts uttered in dismay.
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