---

Jack immediately moves back to inspect it, though Rebecca doesn't seem very concerned, and continues on. The entryway is... really big. You imagine it takes up most of this floor. It's mostly full of pillars, with dimly flickering torches bolted onto them, well out of reach. They don't do much, but it's enough to see by, and the two windows out to the brighter grounds help to illuminate the area somewhat. Even if you could get up to them, though, you don't think you could rip one down. You aren't really sure of the purpose of all these pillars, structurally... they're just sort of there. Maybe ornamentation. You can see cobwebs stretching across the ceiling, in the gloom.

Jack grumbles and moves on, and you follow, looking to the sides as you pass between the oversized pillars. There's a door to the west, and to the east. You quickly catch up to Rebecca, who is inspecting a statue of a winged woman's head and torso. The eyes have been raggedly chiseled out, leaving rough and gaping hollows where they should be.

Jack ignores the whole thing to check the stairs to the sides, one set going up, the other down.

"The Way Opens before My Eyes..." Rebecca mumbles thoughtfully, inspecting the carved letters in the brass plaque, and then looking back up to consider the blatant lack of any such thing on the statue. "How odd."

"Way up is clear, nothing stopping anyone from going that way." Jack says. "But the door down has a gold lock on it, and it's made of thick metal aside. Bet that's the way to the wine cellar." He says, an interested look in his eyes.

Rebecca frowns in mild disapproval.

---

??:??

Competitors:
You-Jack (Partners)
Rebecca- tagalong?

Chad
??"
Serah
Elaine
Janet

Inventory:
Voucher 1

Notes:
-Fence Gate bears a Gold Lock
-Locks cannot be picked
-You cannot climb the Fence without a near certainty of Grievous Bodily Harm
-There are many somethings, that at least share a passing similarity with Zombies, between the Fence and Wall.
-You've counted ten windows on the ground floor, from the outside.
-The Entrance to the mansion has sealed itself with a Silver Lock.
-The Basement Door has a Gold Lock.

[ ] What do you do?

[x] The way opens before her eyes, yet her eyes have been removed. Take a look around the room in search of her removed eyes. Or anything resembling one.
[x] If you don't find anything, then take the stairs upwards.

How much do you guys bet that the statue will come to life under certain conditions? Probably after regainning it's eyes, and unlocking the path.

[x] The way opens before her eyes, yet her eyes have been removed. Take a look around the room in search of her removed eyes. Or anything resembling one.
[x] Check out the other two rooms on the floor

Not enough information to do anything in particular. At the very least, we have some information about the first floor (windows), so we should look at it first.

We also know that at least one of the windows is cracked, so that's something. I think it's one of them in this room, too.

YOU WERE ALMOST A JILL SANDWHICH

[x] The way opens before her eyes, yet her eyes have been removed. Take a look around the room in search of her removed eyes. Or anything resembling one.
[x] Check out the other two rooms on the floor

So, I'm just going to assume this would work like several other scenarios where a key would'nt just stop working after opening one thing. So, The fence is locked with a Gold Lock, and its of clear importance, and we can assume the basement is important for sharing the same lock. So let's say there's three locks in total: Bronze Silver and Gold. That would mean there's only three keys, and each of them open their respective locks (obviously). We might have to find several keys and whoever get's the key that opens the basement/fence is the winner of this little game Yukari set up.

Of course, It's very possible I'm looking far too deep into this all, But from the looks of it this is going to be a pretty large part of the story and is going to take a while.

There's nothing even remotely resembling mutilated bits of statue lying about. In fact, scouring the area, the interior seems... almost unusually clean. Cobwebs, certainly, but hardly even dusty. Definitely no chunks of loose rock to be found. This doesn't help your search at all.

What does is the discovery of how sound is muted, somehow, inside the mansion. You can call at each other all you want, unless you're right on top of one another, you don't notice a thing unless you turn around to see how someone is waving at you and trying to get your attention.

That's actually really creepy, and since visibility is low, too, it means that any number of people could have tromped around through the shadows just outside of your field of vision, and you would never have seen or heard them through the gloom. The perfect situation, if you wanted to lure someone away from safety in numbers.

"I think we should head right up. Probably not much to find on the lowest floors." Jack says.

"Oh, I don't know about that, dear." Rebecca says in turn. "It might be smarter to take things one floor at at time, don't you think?"

"And while we root around down here, the others are collecting the good things on higher floors." Jack argues.

"That's if things are set up the way you're assuming. And if they aren't, and others assume the same and rushed past, then there would be things to be found here they had entirely passed by. Isn't that right?"

.... You agree with Rebecca on this, a little. Probably better to get a bit of the layout of the ground level, before you start going up. You end up poking around a little.

The doors lead to wide, long hallways. The one to the east has a door to the north and to the south... neither seem to be locked. You hold off on checking through them right away, though. The one to the west has two doors to the south, marked 'Page' and right next to it, a little further down, 'Maid Assistant'. Neither look to be locked. There is also a door to a third hall, that is hanging wide open. Clearly, someone has been through here already. Peeking through quickly doesn't reveal anyone, though, and a little more exploration reveals two more doors on the west side of the mansion.

The first one is marked 'Butler', and it only takes a look to tell that it's locked.

"Looks like... Bronze." Jack said thoughtfully. "Too many locks around."

The next door down is unmarked, and doesn't seem to be locked either. You could look here, or one of the other two unmarked rooms, or invade the unlocked servants quarters, on this floor, without needing a key to get through the doors. Or you could still go upstairs at any time, of course.

Jack looks uncomfortable with things, like he'd rather be rooting through a box or drawer somewhere right now. Rebecca, by contrast, looks brightly interested and a little childishly excited with the whole thing, not seeming to have paid much heed to the hungry zombies on the other side of the fence, outside. She seems to be having fun, and doesn't show any objection to you setting the pace.

---

Competitors:
You-Jack (Partners)
Rebecca- tagalong?

Chad
??"
Serah
Elaine
Janet

Inventory:
Voucher 1

Notes:
-Fence Gate bears a Gold Lock
-Locks cannot be picked
-You cannot climb the Fence without a near certainty of Grievous Bodily Harm
-There are many somethings, that at least share a passing similarity with Zombies, between the Fence and Wall.
-You've counted ten windows on the ground floor, from the outside.
-The Entrance to the mansion has sealed itself with a Silver Lock.
-The Basement Door has a Gold Lock.
-The Blind Angel Plaque bears this inscription: 'The Way Opens Before My Eyes'
-The Butler's Quarters have a Bronze Lock.

[ ] What do you do?

The way I look at it, if someone went to the West hall, that place'll be already looted.

I also trust Jack's opinions on what to do. He seems pretty knowledgeable about this stuff.

[x]Check rooms to East
-[x]Afterwards, head upstairs

... This is the Scarlet Devil Mansion, isn't it.

Or at least, a version of it.

... Yeah, let's check a few times before entering the basement, either way :P

[x] Check the servant's rooms
[x] Head upstairs afterwards.

[x]Check rooms to East.
-[x]Afterwards, head upstairs.

I have a feeling Kahi wants to get this done as fast as possible, What with the extremely rapid updates.

Anyways, It's pretty much now confirmed that there's three tiers of locks. Bronze Silver and Gold, we know this. Now we also know that Bronze locks are the one's that arent as important as say, the Silver ones. We should go to the Maid Assistant quarters first, as seeing as how its a Maid she would likely have a key to the very basic rooms. Maybe we'll find a silver key in the butlers room, too?

[x]Check the Maid Assistants room


Let's not be making any votes as to where to go after we've searched a place but dont know what it holds: Going up may be a one-way ticket.

After a moment of thought, you inspect the Maid Assistant's room.

It's... pretty girly, even in the dim candlelight. You note that the candle set in the wall-holder doesn't seem to actually 'burn' as much as 'poorly provide light'. But with a window in the west wall, letting in a little more light, there's not too much trouble seeing. It doesn't look like the window is locked. .... it doesn't look like the window has a lock, even.

Two stuffed teddy bears, a cracked doll, and a poorly stitched toy bunny sit side by side on a low shelf. There are a few small maid uniforms, and other assorted items of clothing partially on and partially off the bed. A couple of what look like romance novels are hidden beneath a desk, and there are a few scattered game pieces on a small table. Some checkers, a few chess pieces, a marble, and a handful of jacks. None look particularly valuable.

You'd guess the occupant of this room was... not really old, you think, putting all of the scenery together. Probably more than ten. Probably less than sixteen. Somewhere in that age range, you guess.

Jack has removed a drawer and peers inside the desk itself before reaching in and pulling out a small, leather-bound notebook, which he shakes a little to check for bookmarks and discards as uninteresting, and an envelope, which he opens. There's some Money inside.

"... Really." You say flatly. "Really? You're looting the little girls savings."

"Hey, look around yourself. Do you really think she's coming back here for it? I'll just hang on to this." Jack says, counting and tucking the money in a pocket.

"Oh, it's her diary!" Rebecca notes interestedly, as she flips through pages. You sigh. "Hm... 'Today, my womanly times have come for the first time. It's something that makes me happy, but at the same time, a little sad, because now I need to set aside a little of my earnings for Queen Anne's Lace.' Hm... it goes into her day-to-day life, but it doesn't seem to have much detail. Oh! She has a crush, it seems... ah, but the boy doesn't notice. It looks like it's the Page she's writing about... 'Dipped into my savings to purchase a new scent. Geoffrey complimented the head maid on her new perfumes. He doesn't notice me at all, that boy only has eyes for her. The woman is old enough to be our mother, and he won't look at me instead. Why won't he notice me?'..."

"Yes, terribly interesting." Jack says, in a tone that clearly stated he thought it was anything but. Rebecca sighs and sets the diary aside, on the desk.

Jack looks around the room a little more before just looking impatient. If there's anything else in here, he clearly won't be the one to find it.

---

Competitors:
You-Jack (Partners)
Rebecca- tagalong?

Chad
??"
Serah
Elaine
Janet

Inventory:
Voucher 1
40M (In Jack's keeping)

Notes:
-Fence Gate bears a Gold Lock
-Locks cannot be picked
-You cannot climb the Fence without a near certainty of Grievous Bodily Harm
-There are many somethings, that at least share a passing similarity with Zombies, between the Fence and Wall.
-You've counted ten windows on the ground floor, from the outside.
-The Entrance to the mansion has sealed itself with a Silver Lock.
-The Basement Door has a Gold Lock.
-The Blind Angel Plaque bears this inscription: 'The Way Opens Before My Eyes'
-The Butler's Quarters have a Bronze Lock.

[ ] What do you do?

>Note: Would really prefer you specify which, exact, room you want to check out, etc. Like 'the one south of the east hall' or 'the room past the Butler's quarters', if a name isn't given for them. Also, one at a time would probably be better, if you haven't been in a room yet.

[x] Visit the Page's room.

I want to get the other side of the story. Also, given his affections, we might get some info on the Head Maid, who might have the Bronze Key.

[x] Look for secret compartments in the desk or drawers.
[x] Look under the bed.
[x] Is there a closet? check it.
[x] Ponder the possibility of keeping the uniforms for the yukkuri.
[x] After examining the room, head for the one next door.

The maid uniforms are really tempting, but they are gonna get in the way (no backpack and we have partners). This looks like an English or Colonial-era America mansion and it's obvious we need to get inside the Butler's room somehow.
The statue, maybe we need to find the eyes to open a way (RE style) or examine the back of the angel's head.

One thing I noticed is that we saw three windows on this side (the west side) of the mansion. There are three rooms bordering the west side of the mansion.

And this window we just saw is unlocked. And, given that we've seen a cracked window, breakable.

Of course, I would never suggest breaking windows to circumvent the bronze lock in the butler's room. Never.

You make a point of searching the room thoroughly. No closet, but there's clothes in some of the drawers. No secret compartments, though. A check under the bed reveals...

Those are altogether far too immodest for a girl the age you're guessing at. Too lacy. Too silky. In specific point of fact, altogether too transparent as well.

You stuff them back under the bed and pretend you never saw them... that's odd. You could have sworn that the doll was between a bear and the rabbit, earlier, and not seated quietly between two bears. Jack probably picked them up to see if anything was beneath, then put them back wrong.

"Doesn't look like anything else is in... Where did Jack go?" You ask, pointedly.

"Oh, he left to see if there was a restroom nearby, dear." Rebecca says, blinking. "While you were still crawling underneat that bed. I thought you heard? He wasn't exactly quiet about saying so."

"I didn't hear anything." You say, rising to your feet. "... That could be a problem."

"I'm sure he'll be back soon, once he's dealt with his urgencies."

It's not like you're going to be going far, anyway. Just the room next door. The rooms are actually pretty decently sized, but the doors are literally right next to each other. He shouldn't get lost finding his way back, as long as you stick around the area.

.... The foul smell of rotten flesh sends you reeling a little, and Rebecca sniffs. You steel yourself before you step in, and look around.

The room clearly belongs to a young man, from what you can see by the dim candlelight, but is fairly neat and orderly. Things are stored properly, except for what looks like a journal sitting on a desk. All clothing seems to be put away, save for a pair of what looks like loose pyjamas, cast carelessly onto the floor. And a small nightdress.

The bedsheets are tangled, twisted, and thickly matted with dried blood. The... bodies, laying there, are in a state of decay, but some features are visible. Mainly their size, though thankfully, the body features are mostly indistinct. Their faces are, by contrast, strangely well preserved.

The girl's are twisted into a mixture of determined pain and sorrow, with a touch of anger. You don't know how much of this is due to the small pocketknife lodged in the side of her ribcage.

The young man's is mostly made up of shocked horror, and desperation. Probably due to the decaying hands even now set in a vice-like grip about his throat.

You aren't sure what happened here.... Well, aside from the obvious of 'what happened here', but Rebecca seems fairly stunned by the tableau.

---

Competitors:
You-Jack (Partners)
Rebecca- tagalong?

Chad
??"
Serah
Elaine
Janet

Inventory:
Voucher 1
40M (In Jack's keeping)

Notes:
-Fence Gate bears a Gold Lock
-Locks cannot be picked
-You cannot climb the Fence without a near certainty of Grievous Bodily Harm
-There are many somethings, that at least share a passing similarity with Zombies, between the Fence and Wall.
-You've counted ten windows on the ground floor, from the outside.
-The Entrance to the mansion has sealed itself with a Silver Lock.
-The Basement Door has a Gold Lock.
-The Blind Angel Plaque bears this inscription: 'The Way Opens Before My Eyes'
-The Butler's Quarters have a Bronze Lock.

[ ] What do you do?

[x]Search the bodies
-[x]Watch out for zombies
-[x]Grab the pocketknife, if it's still usable
[x]Search the room
-[x]Read the journal

Doll's missing, and Jack's gone, two bad things in a row.

May have more plans tomorrow.

[x] Giggle at the ghosties.
[x] Take knife.
[x] Stab Rebecca.
[x] Arrange bodies in humorous fashion.
[x] Read journal.
[x] Loot all.

Weird Puzzle Shit everywhere.

[x]Inspect the bodies.
-[x]Watch out for zombies.
-[x]Grab the pocketknife, if it's still usable.
[x]Search the room.
-[x]Desk, Drawers, Bed, Frames, Closet, look for secrets.
-[x]Read the journal.
[x]Keep an eye on your back, no more misterious dissapearances.

My guess, the girl in a fit of jealousy tried to prove herself a 'true woman' (hence the lingerie, or yukari is fooling with us) but since his lover rejected her, decided that nobody should have him. Then, she tried to kill him in his room, but she ended up stabbed by the boy in self-defense, she appeared to be dead but with the last of her strength, she rose and strangled the boy, who now was too scared to do something about it. That would explain the anger in her face, and the terror of his.
Other explanation would be that the boy tried to rape the girl, then held her at knife point and stabbed her, she rose and strangled him.
We need to read that journal to discover the truth!

You close in carefully on the corpses, but they don't seem really inclined to move from their prone heap. You're ready to back up very quickly as you grab the handle of the pocket knife...

It slides free, grating against bone, and a thick, dark-grayish sort of ichorous muck spills free from the hole a little, matching the gunk staining the blade alongside the dried blood. You feel the intense, burning urge to wash your hands. But the corpses still don't move, even as you carefully wipe the little blade clean on the dropped nightclothes. The blade is rusted and corroded, and barely seems to hold any sort of edge. You aren't sure if that's normal.

And now you have a weapon. She does not. You are in a position of power over the woman.

"Are you all right?" You ask.

"Yes, I... just, it was a little startling to see." Rebecca replies, seeming somewhat frazzled, but getting her head together again.

You carefully search the room. There doesn't seem to be anything here that's not supposed to be here, though, and you aren't willing to dig around the rotten bodies too much at first. No hidden tricks like keeping things behind the drawers, or in compartments, either, when you find an envelope it's sitting serenely in a drawer next to a broken pocketwatch, in a number of cracked and dented pieces.

The envelope is empty. Well. Either there wasn't anything there to find, which you doubt, or someone else got through here first, you suppose.

You inspect a little more thoroughly, and wince as the girl tumbles off of the boy, what state there is that can be determined proving beyond any real shadow of a doubt what was occuring at times of death. Her hands have broken off at the thin wrists, stumps leaving a little of that foul muck on both ends of things... legs still spread, somewhat, in some grotesque parody of a sultry invitation.

There's nothing else to be found in or around the bed and so after another quick check through the room, you pick up the journal and skim through it.

It goes into detail about how the young man, Geoffrey, was taken in from an orphanage to serve as a house servant in exchange for room, board, and a paltry stipend. Still better than a bowl of gruel three times a day, or worse, living on the streets, he reflects.

He doesn't seem comfortable with the senior staff or the master of the house, though, and he notes eventually that the man seems to go through wives 'regularly'. He had two through the course of the boy's first fumbling year of employment, and the pace seems to remain steady.

His journal doesn't go into much detail on things for a while, as a few years pass, and he usually only makes one brief notation of events a week, if that. But after a while, he ecstatically notes that the master of the house has decided to take on another young servant.

His younger, still un-adopted sister, Marie.

You suddenly have a bad feeling about this.

Skimming through, you pick out tidbits like 'Professionalism is an important virtue, but I do not understand why the Master has forbidden me to treat Marie as anything more than I would some other randomly selected orphan. Even so, having no recourse for employment in other fields, I will keep a stoic face so as to not endanger my employment.' And then 'It warm my heart to know that Marie has recalled some forgotten fondness for the brother it seems she cannot recall from her youth, but I cannot help but feel it somehow odd. Almost unnerving, in several respects.'

.... You only need to continue reading enough to confirm that the position Marie was selected for was that of the Assistant Maid. Then you very slowly, calmly, close the journal and set it aside. And try not to think about anything you've just read.

---

Competitors:
You-Jack (Partners)
Rebecca- tagalong?

Chad
??"
Serah
Elaine
Janet

Inventory:
Voucher 1
40M (In Jack's keeping)
Rusted Pocket-knife

Notes:
-Fence Gate bears a Gold Lock
-Locks cannot be picked
-You cannot climb the Fence without a near certainty of Grievous Bodily Harm
-There are many somethings, that at least share a passing similarity with Zombies, between the Fence and Wall.
-You've counted ten windows on the ground floor, from the outside.
-The Entrance to the mansion has sealed itself with a Silver Lock.
-The Basement Door has a Gold Lock.
-The Blind Angel Plaque bears this inscription: 'The Way Opens Before My Eyes'
-The Butler's Quarters have a Bronze Lock.

[ ] What do you do?

Well, gee, that wasn't disturbing at all!

[X] Examine the envelope and the pocketwatch.

[x]Investigate Watch
[x]Wait for Jack to return (hallway)
[x]Return to Maid's Assistant Room
-[x]Investigate Window
--[x]If you can go outside and return inside via the window, attempt to re-enter mansion via adjacent window on the West side.
--[x]If you can't, investigate the last, unlocked room on the West side.

Come on, people, the window doesn't even have a lock on it. It's like Kahi's asking us to try and go through it.

[x]Investigate Watch
[x]Wait for Jack to return (hallway)
[x]Return to Maid's Assistant Room
-[x]Investigate Window
--[x]If you can go outside and return inside via the window, attempt to re-enter mansion via adjacent window on the West side.
--[x]If you can't, investigate the last, unlocked room on the West side.

[x]>>40385
[x] Be cautious. The oddly intense thoughts of betrayal you've been having might not be limited to to just you.
[x] Remind self how long you were under the bed, and check possible nearby body-hiding places if Jack does not come back in a reasonable period of time.

I can't really refer to bolded thoughts, so that's what I came up with.

And the knife has been soaking in blood for god knows how long. Makes sense that it's dull. Still better than nothing.

The Envelope is still empty. The watch is still broken.

Which is kind of a shame, since it looks like it was nice enough of a watch at some point, but it's very thoroughly broken. What isn't bent and twisted out of shape for anything is cracked in multiple places or outright shattered. You can only really tell that it's a watch because the heavily dented exterior parts are still sitting next to the tangled pile of scrap and fragments that used to be inside it.

You leave the room, and wait at the intersection of doors for Jack. He can't miss you if you wait here, and he comes back. You only stuck your head under the bed for a moment, too, so it's not like Rebecca could have overpowered, crushed the life from him and stowed the wretched shell somewhere and returned while you weren't looking or anything. You're pretty sure Jack would have won in a direct conflict between them, anyway.

You have a little bit of a headache. And now you're worried that one of the other contestants might come across him, alone. Or that something else might.

There's a bump from somewhere nearby, as if on cue. Beyond the door east. Then another. Then a few 'scritching' noises, moving slowly away.

You decide against investigating that right off, and continue to wait for Jack for a little. Just as you start to get impatient, he comes down the hallway north.

"Found a bathroom. Pretty big, given it's for servant use." He says. "At the end of the hall, here, if you want a look. I didn't find anything, though."

---

Competitors:
You-Jack (Partners)
Rebecca- tagalong?

Chad
??"
Serah
Elaine
Janet

Inventory:
Voucher 1
40M (In Jack's keeping)
Rusted Pocket-knife

Notes:
-Fence Gate bears a Gold Lock
-Locks cannot be picked
-You cannot climb the Fence without a near certainty of Grievous Bodily Harm
-There are many somethings, that at least share a passing similarity with Zombies, between the Fence and Wall.
-You've counted ten windows on the ground floor, from the outside.
-The Entrance to the mansion has sealed itself with a Silver Lock.
-The Basement Door has a Gold Lock.
-The Blind Angel Plaque bears this inscription: 'The Way Opens Before My Eyes'
-The Butler's Quarters have a Bronze Lock.

[ ] What do you do?

[x] Everybody go investigate the sounds you just heard.

Creepy, creepy~

[x] Return to Maid's Assistant's room.
-[x] Attempt to egress through window and enter Butler's room.
-[x] Investigate last unlocked room on west side.

Don't leave things unfinished here.

Also good, Jack's fine.

[x] Return to Maid's Assistant's room.
-[x] Attempt to egress through window and enter Butler's room.
-[x] Investigate last unlocked room on west side.

Those soft noises you heard? Totally not worth investigating. In fact, you probably misheard. It was probably nothing, just your imagination.

The window out of the assistant maid's room is a bit annoying to move through, and so you have to help Rebecca clamber out. In the process, you discover that her general hips-area is... nice. Firm, but supple, with a slight yielding quality that invites squeezing...

An awkward moment is shared, though Jack doesn't seem to notice, peering suspiciously out towards the fence as he is. It doesn't stop Rebecca from letting you help her back in through the next window north, and you try to be a little more careful about where your hands end up. It doesn't help much, but again, she doesn't seem to really mind.

In any case, you've successfully bypassed the locks on both the entry to the Mansion, and on the Butler's quarters. There's a somewhat tattered umbrella leaning up against one wall, but everything seems to be arranged properly otherwise, and the bed is made neatly. You divide up to rummage through the man's belongings and personal effects.

"Find anything yet?" Jack asks after a few minutes, holding a cracked monocle up to the light streaming in from the two windows.

"Oh dear. This fellow seems terribly depressed about something." Rebecca says, leafing through a journal.

"... Is that so?" Jack says, as he tosses the pillow back down to the bed, sheets now thoroughly disarranged.

You open a drawer, and pause. Sitting right there, in the otherwise empty drawer is a Ticket, held in place by a heavy Bronze Key.

"Found something." You say, picking both up, and displaying them.

"That works." Jack says, thoughtfully. "... I'm not sure how we'd be expected to get through the door to pick this key up, if the only key was behind it, though. There's probably more, unless it's just to be assumed that every contestant is a dashingly capable rogue such as ourselves."

"Ooh, I can't read this anymore." Rebecca sighs, setting the journal away.

You check the door. Sure enough, with the key, it opens easily... but you don't really use the key. It just sort of.. clicks, when you approach with it in your possession, and unlocks on its own, waiting for you to pass through. Then locks again as you move away. Odd.

---

Competitors:
You-Jack (Partners)
Rebecca- tagalong?

Chad
??"
Serah
Elaine
Janet

Inventory:
Voucher 1
Ticket x1
40M (In Jack's keeping)
Rusted Pocket-knife
Bronze Key

Notes: I'm just going to assume you're keeping up with things on your own, from this point on, so I can stop copying them over and over. Have fun with that.

[ ] What do you do?

[X] investigate the last room on the west side

Totally worth not checking out potential zombies/ killer dolls inside the house

[x]Investigate journal
[x]Investigate Northwest room

[x] Investigate the west room.
-[x] Next time you find a ticket, keep quiet a about it ic you can.

[X] Investigate journal.

I wonder if the umbrella's worth anything. Maybe as a bludgeon.

>Notes: I'm just going to assume you're keeping up with things on your own, from this point on, so I can stop copying them over and over. Have fun with that.

Welp, guess its time to pull out the old spreadsheet.

You glance through the journal quickly before leaving. Like the Page's, the journal is sparse on detail, and you're generally fortunate to see an entry every week.

There's a sort of cycle you note, though. It seems to roughly coincide with the Master's habit of regularly marrying new women. It'l be relatively peppy and upbeat, optimistic, for a couple of weeks following the new Wife's arrival. Then, over the course of a few months, the Butler's mood will steadily deteriorate, until there's a span of several weeks where he seems particularly tired, and...

Well, he doesn't directly argue against himself for or against the merits of suicide, but it's definitely suggesting that he's contemplating a final ending for himself, of some sort. Then it'll brighten up again, with optimism, and notes that this time, maybe this time, the Master would keep his lovely, young, new wife.

This repeats, over and over, for years, until the man just stops making entries altogether. Matching dates, he stops well before Geoffrey.

In any case, the last room through these halls is an impressively large bathroom, given it seems to be for servant use. A window looks out to the north, helping the single wall-candle light things up, and a large tub sits in the center of things, over a grate. A plug looks like it drains it, and it fills with buckets from a tap next to the sink. A few thin towels can be seen, folded on a counter. There is a toilet off to the side, with no privacy walls or curtains to separate it from the rest of the room.

... there is something dark in the bottom, as you glance in. You crinkle your nose in disgust and pull the flush-lever.

It's still there, once the water's finished swirling away and filling back in, but in this lighting you can't make out any real details of whatever it is, and aren't sure you want to.

Rebecca yelps, and moves away from the sink, leaving water running as she stares at her hands.

---

Competitors:
You-Jack (Partners)
Rebecca- tagalong?

Chad
??"
Serah
Elaine
Janet

Inventory:
Voucher 1
Ticket x1
40M (In Jack's keeping)
Rusted Pocket-knife
Bronze Key

[ ] What do you do?

[x]Ask Rebecca what's wrong
-[x]Investigate sink
[x]Investigate Northeast room
-[x]Keep an eye out for whatever was making that noise

Jack didn't say anything about the bathroom when he was there...
Another thing to note is the sound muffling in here. If we could hear the scratching earlier, they were basically on top of us.

And a forty minute turnaround's rough.

[x] Become paranoid-er
-[x]Investigate Northeast room

[x]Ask Rebecca what's wrong
-[x]Investigate sink
[x]Investigate Northeast room
-[x]Keep an eye out for whatever was making that noise

[x]Ask Rebecca what's wrong
-[x]Investigate sink
-[x]If possible, grab the candle. Light/fire could always come in handy later
[x]Investigate Northeast room

"What is it?" You ask, looking at her.

"I, it.. the sink." She stammers for a moment, before composing herself.

"It's not blood." Frank says, alarming you a little, before you piece things together. "It's rust in the water. Old houses like this, they have old pipes. So with rust settling into it, they run red for a little when you start them going. Look."

He turns the sink back on and, yes, it runs red like blood for a second or two, coming out in sputters. Then it runs clear, normal water.

"You see? No problem. You haven't found anything here?" Jack asks, as Rebecca breathes a little easier, running the water over her hands.

"No." You say, deciding not to bring up whatever it is in the bottom of the toilet bowl. He probably already saw it, even if it is easy to miss in the dim lighting. "Let's continue on. There's still another side of the floor to look at."

Jack shrugs, and you head off. Then you pause as you open the door to the main foyer, with the pillars.

....

That stuff? All over the floor?

It's not rusty water.

Rebecca makes a startled noise, then quickly follows the smears of blood away.

"What are you doing, this is a bad idea." You groan, following the trail after her.

"Someone's hurt!" She says in response, not stopping.

"... All this leaking out, I don't think 'hurt' is quite the word for it." Jack mutters to himself.

You find the last contestant only a little away. Or, what there is to find, anyway. With gaping torso wounds like that, even if he was still breathing, he'd be beyond help. Rebecca hesitantly starts to reach to check his pulse. Then stops, seeming to realize the futility of that. Then just puts a hand against the corpse's forehead.

"... He's still warm." She says. "It can't have been long, since-"

There's a nearby thump. All three of you look up from the body, and you suspect you know what you'll see.

You're wrong, as it happens. What you see is Chad. Grinning far too widely, clothes spattered with red, eyes completely blank white, and hefting an enormous fucking battle axe for some reason.

"WELCOME! CUSTOMERS!" He bellows, swinging it lightly through the air. "To CHASSAD'S DISCOUNT AFTERLIFE TOURISM SERVICES! Today, I have very special deal, JUST FOR YOU! One way tickets, HALF OFF of your entire party! NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES!"

The three of you tense. You guess you could try to fight the tall, muscular axe-murderer Chad's become, but you somehow feel a little uncertain of your odds, pitting a rusty pocket-knife against that big chunk of edged death. You can't run directly away, he's coming from between the pillars to the north, and starting to charge. You guess you could try to get around behind him, but that just ties in to your more immediately important decision.

No time to plan this out, or instruct anyone. Left, or right? You can plan out more escape-ey details after that.

---

Competitors:
You-Jack (Partners)
Rebecca- tagalong?

Chad- Axe-Murderin'
??"- Ax'd in the Grand Foyer
Serah
Elaine
Janet


Inventory:
Voucher 1
Ticket x1
40M (In Jack's keeping)
Rusted Pocket-knife
Bronze Key

[ ] What do you do?

>"It's not blood." Frank says, alarming you a little,

Frank = Jack. My bad.

[x]Right

If I had to bullshit a reason, it's because Chad's probably right handed, so would swing to the left... But I really, flip a coin.

I would guess its the doll, but it could also be rage zombies

And regarding a plan, we could flee to the locked butler's room and escape through the window to loop around

[x] Left

only you have the bronze key. using the locking mechanism to your advantage, you can sneak out the window and re-enter through the maid's room again. (that is if the arrow is pointing the direction Chad is coming from)

>>40406
And by right, I mean Frank's right, which would probably be our left

[x]To the left! Just mind one's footing so that one does not slip in the raspberry jam~

You hurl yourself to the left, westward, as Rebecca stumbles in the same direction. Jack has darted off to the right, east.

Crap. You're split up again, but there's no time to think of that. The axe just slammed down where you were all huddling, cleaving the nameless final contestant's head off and sending it lazily rolling away. You have just enough time to see Chad look first at you, then at the retreating Jack, before you're fully turned around and moving at full speed.

You heft Rebecca up as you run. She's either lighter than you would expect from her height and build, slim though it is, or it's the terror adrenaline lending strength. Probably the second one, since the thumping noise of Chad starting to barrel after you gives your steps a little bit more of a boost.

"Run faster, the axe isn't slowing him down at all!" Rebecca advises, fingers digging into your back a little as she stares over your shoulder.

You clear your way into the west halls, but you can still hear him, he's right behind you. No time to stop and think. You have to move fast.

---

[ ] What do you do?

[x] the butler's room, hurry. once inside, bar the door, and get out.

[x]Dodge past Chad around the pillars
[x]Head to the Butler's room, then loop around through the windows

[x] if we've missed the chance, go to the North East room, then flee through a window

So long, ???, we hardly knew you

[x]Dodge past Chad around the pillars
[x]Head to the Butler's room, then loop around through the windows

[x] if we've missed the chance, go to the North East room, then flee through a window

The butler's room.

The butler's room has a lock. This is a Good Thing. You go that way, as fast as you can, almost sure you can hear and feel the whizzing of an axe blade just inches behind you.

The way Rebecca is panicking in your arms, you might not be that far off. But the room isn't far. You slam through, quickly, and then sit down on the bed, panting from the exertion. There's a rattling thump that seems to send your teeth vibrating as something barrels into the door.

It holds, though. And thankfully, if there are multiple keys, Chad doesn't have one. He slams into the door a couple of times more, to be sure he's not getting through, and then you can hear him stomping away.

... In any case, you reflect as you catch your breath, you don't plan on going back out that way.

---

"You can... um. Put me down whenever you want, now." Rebecca says. "I don't think he can get through the door."

You start as you realize that you're still carrying her. Or rather, that seated, she's ended up in your lap. ... Her hip regions are just as nice as you recall. There's no time to linger on that sort of thing. You set her down on the bed right away, mumbling an apology.

"No, that's fine, dear..." She says, looking slightly conflicted and flustered as you get up and go check the window. It slides open as easily as before.

"I think we can get out through here, loop around, and come back in somewhere else." You say, climbing out.

"I'll be right after you, just... give me a moment to catch my breath." She says, as you clamber out and onto the lawn.

A glance around confirms that all the zombies are still locked on the other side of the fence. Safe enough. You turn, ready to call Rebecca over and help her out.

And then, the world makes a liar out of you as an axe-blade slams through the window to the assistant maid's room, sending glass shattering outwards in a spray of tinkling, shiny razor-fragments.

Shit. Shit shit shit. Visibility and hearing range is much better outside, and there's nowhere to lose him, it takes a few seconds to heave yourself through a window. If you let him catch sight of you out here, you'll be stuck running around the outside of the mansion in circles until one of you gets tired.

Somehow, you don't think you're going to win an endurance running contest right now.

---

[ ] What do you do?

[x]Stay outside, ready to get back inside, To lure Chad outside the house
[x]As soon as he comes out, get pulled back in
[x]Hightail it up the stairs

[x]Lure Chad outside
[x]As soon as he comes out, get pulled back in
[x]go to the east and regroup. See if Jack has found anything

[x]Haul yourself back into the room.
[x]If there's a way to close/cover the window quickly, do so.
[x]Once he starts breaking through(and is thus committed to entering), leave the room and head for the main foyer. Don't step in the strawberry jelly, trackable footprints are bad.

[x] Get back inside, run to the north, beyond the restroom.

We can't go east, he will catch up to John just as fast. Specially if he knows John is using the door again.

>>40419
That would be a dead-end, in more than one meaning of the term.

>>40419
Inside, it's basically impossible to find someone without being on top of them. And, I guess, leaving tracks

You would like to say that standing there, dumbly, as Chad bashed out the rest of the window and started stepping through was a tactical decision.

It's what you'd like to say, anyway. But at the very least, you aren't stunned stupid enough that you keep standing there as he heaves himself out most of the way, and then turns to look directly at you.

You heave yourself back through with all possible rapidity, a hearty "BHOHAHAHAHA." echoing in your ears.

"Wh-" Rebecca manages to say, before the window-glass shatters inward, sprinkling over you as you rise up, axe-blade poking through what's left of the glass.

"No time, let's go!" You say quickly, as she shrieks a little bit. It'll only take one or two more good, solit smashes with the axe to bash the window completely apart and have a much larger, easier hole to get through.

By that time, you and Rebecca are already on the other side of the door. But you can't assume he's going to be stupid about this, with all the evidence pointing otherwise, and he's fast for hauling that giant axe around everywhere. You think you know exactly what he'll do, once he sticks his head in and sees that you've absconded.

You pick up Rebecca and run.

Sure enough, you've barely made it to the door to the grand foyer before she lets out a noise that manages to both say absolutely nothing comprehensible, and tell you that he just burst through the door to that assistant maid's room, behind you.

You have a lead, though, and think you can keep distance. The stairs are to the left, or you can sprint across the whole foyer, and you only have a split second to decide.

---

[ ] What do you do?

>>40421

There would probably be bloodied foot prints left behind by the pair.
>>40420

I've just now realized that there isn't a door there. For some reason I was seeing the labk line as a brown line, and thought the hallway was longer.

Should hve gone back to the room again. Keep repeating the process until he either tires down enough to be beaten, or gave up chasing John compeltely.

[x] Upstairs.

Eh, was hoping that he'd be delayed in climbing into a window while holding a giant. Battleaxe, but what can you do?

[x] Upstairs

We might find other competitors there. I'm sure the valley girl will be a great help. Serah might be, too

[x] Upstairs

Don't know why everyone else is saging, but whatever. Also, somehow I feel Serah must be the one behind this.
RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN.

Stairs it is!

No time to think, just run. The distance in between passes by you in what seems like a blur, Chad just a bit behind and laughing.

He stumbles a little on the steps, though, and that gives you a bit more of a lead, taking them two at a time as you reach the second floor for the first time.

There's a door near you. There's a door at the other end of the small room, too. And a third door, but there's a candle right next to it showing that you need a Silver Key to pass through, which dismisses it from possibility. You don't think Chad has one, but at the same time you don't have one either.

It's a choice between the near, northeastern door, and the far southwestern one. You can make it through either before Chad gets up here.

.... You'll have to quickly go through another door once you're beyond whichever you pick, though, as while he might go for the other one, he also might be just a bit behind you. No time to think it out, though, it's snap-decision time.

---

[ ] What do you do?

[x] Nearest door.

Will we have the chance to go back downstairs? The west wing was left unexplored...

[x] Nearest door. Barricade it and start looking for weapons.

[x]Near door
[x]Toss the knife in front of the far door as a distraction

Chad's a six-foot plus giant who just jumped through two windows to catch us. He's on our heels.

[x] Nearest door.
No way of knowing whats in either of them. Hopefully it isn't a closet.

[x]Near door
[x]Toss the knife in front of the far door as a distraction

Near door. No time for second guessing!

You aren't really willing to toss away your only means of defense, meager though it is, and as you pass through, you can hear him charging up the stairs. No time to try to move something in front of the door, even if there was something to shove around in this corridor.

You run, instead.

Snap decision time, at the end of the hall. Three doors, two with no lock, and one locked with a Bronze Key. You're getting a little tired, the adrenaline can only carry you so far, you guess.

... You think you hear the door slamming open from the second floor entry.

---

What do you do?

[X] Bronze key. Let the key save your life.

[x] Bronze.

I hope you guys are mentally prepared for when Jack inevitably betrays us.

[x] Bronze locked door.

As if there was any other choice.

[x] Locked door

>>40437
Honestly, I'm more worried about Serah.
I'm not discounting the possibility that this is all her fault somehow.
[x]Bronze key saves lives.

>>40437
Right now, at least, we're holding onto most of the cards. We've got a ticket, a mysterious voucher, and the key, not to mention a loyal hanger-on whose life is indebted to us.

Well, obviously, it's going to have to be the locked door. A door he can just slam right through after you is going to be no good at all.

You barrel through it, and it slams shut behind you. There's an audible crash as Chad tries, and fails, to follow. You breathe heavily, as he seems to wait on the other side. You can hear him checking the doors as you slump to seat yourself on the floor, against a wall, not close enough to unlock the door by accident. Rebecca is trembling a little on top of you, but seems otherwise composed.

"AH, Customer." Chad bellows. "It seems you have OUTWITTED my AGGRESSIVE SALES TECHNIQUE! But you shall return. OF COURSE YOU SHALL! For CHASSAD has a deal that is just WAITING for YOU!"

You hear him moving away. ... You decide not to go out right away, though. Don't want to risk that he just went back to the corner of that corridor, to wait and see if you'll come out like a shmuck, just yet. Besides, you don't think you'll really have much running in you, for a bit.

"... Oh my." An amused voice lilts. "All of this ruckus. What have you gotten into this time, I wonder, John?"

.... It's a familiar voice. You instinctively glance around the room, looking for windows. Sadly, it seems that the Library is fresh out. Bookshelves aplenty, certainly, and books, and a globe and some tables. A couple of board games are set out in place, and there's a stalwart suit of armor with its boots welded to a stand. But no windows. The armor seems to be missing its weapon, too. ... it looks almost like it's meant to have an axe.

But scanning finished, you turn reluctantly to meet Serah's smiling gaze. She looks just the same as you remember her, with a little leeway for age.

Rebecca squirms in surprise as you accidentally clutch her a little tighter, not sure if you want to move to protect her, or shift her fully in between you and Serah. Stuck here for a while, with her... Well, this is just lovely.

"What are you doing here?" You ask, warily.

"Why, what do you think, John? Unless you mean in the immediate sense of this room. In which case, I assure you, I would leave if I could find a way." She says, starting off with a superior tone, that fades into sourness.

---

[ ] What do you do?

>>40441
A loyal (seeming) hanger-on whose mind might also be slowly twisted by the same voice that runs through your head.

You can never trust yukari after all...

[X] Stay wary. Kill Serah if possible.
There's three scenarios that could have happened.
1)Serah was with Chad in the same group, and she has a second bronze key and sent him after you.

2)Serah has the second bronze key and escaped Chad who was also in the same room as her and then procceded to come back

3)Serah was with a group of people who had the second bronze key, the holder now out of the room, locking her inside because she was a threat, and Chad avoided her because she was an ally/threat.

None of them look particularly good.

[x]Ask her if she knows what happened to Chad
[x]Investigate Library
-[x]Examine books
-[x]Keep an eye on Serah while doing so

>>40444
I don't think Serah's actually out to kill us. I read her to be just insane, not a psychopathic killer fixated on us

[x] "How did you enter here if you can't leave? The only way in is the same way out."
-[x] Depending on how she answers, you may proceed to more nromal/ommon activities:
--[x]Ask her if she knows what happened to Chad
--[x] Ask her how she's being doing since entering the mansion.
---[x]Investigate Library
-----[x]Examine books
-----[x]Keep an eye on Serah while doing so
-[x] Or you might have to kill her. Who knows?

[x]Ask her if she knows what happened to Chad
[x]Investigate Library
-[x]Examine books
-[x]Keep an eye on Serah while doing so

"You... don't happen to have any guesses what happened to Chad, out there, do you?" You ask, seriously.

"Why would I know a thing like that?" Serah wonders. "I didn't know his name, before you told me. I haven't socialized with the other contestants, you see. Certainly not to the level of... fraternization, you seem to employ. Incidentally, your acquaintance seems quite... comfortable, there. Have you perhaps been making arrangements for a quiet rendevouz back in the city proper, once all this is over? My my... I do believe that would almost be considered a death flag~"

"Ah, n-no! I'm a married woman, miss!" Rebecca insists, stammering, though it doesn't seem she initially thinks to rise from your lap.

"Oh my~ Are we an adulterer now, Johnny?" Serah... is she teasing you? "I do hope her poor, cuckolded husband never catches on. Besides. That's sinful, you know~"

"I'm pretty sure murder is also a sin." You say, before you can think of something better. She grins at you.

"Successful... certainly. But why, it seems you're dwelling too much on old times. A small, frail girl such as myself... do I really look like such a threat, John?" She asks.

You're not willing to admit completely to it. Your silence is damning enough, you suppose, as she starts giggling.

"Oh, but I could certainly never overpower you directly, could I? Why, if you wanted, you could overpower me, even with your... friend, there, watching. I don't doubt you could just... strangle the very life out of me~"

She's walking forward. She's walking forward and there's nowhere for you to scuttle back to, with the wall behind you, and Rebecca weighing you down. She's kneeling. She's picking up your arms by the wrists, leaning forward. Her breath is hot, crossing past Rebecca's hair as she looks you in the eye and carefully sets your hands about her throat.

You could just squeeze, just a bit, and watch as her eyes slowly bugged out and she choked after breath she couldn't draw.

You can hardly breath, yourself.

What is she playing at?

She waits, grinning, and you realize your fingers are trembling a little. Then she pulls away, and steps back, and you breathe a sigh of relief before you've realized it.

"In any case... as it happens, I'm stuck." She explains. "You see, upon entering, there were no locks to be found upon any door. I suspect we were meant to enter as a group, however... for you see, after a bit, there was a loud noise throughout the house. Of a door, slamming shut, as it were. And suddenly, there were locks where none had been before, as though they had always been."

Serah shrugs.

"Naturally, being stuck inside of a room with only one entry, that entry barred, and no key within to unlock it... why, I found myself perplexingly trapped." She continues, a note of disgust in her voice. "And without a key, the door is impassable, it seems. I have been forced to wait patiently... for someone else to happen along and enter."

"... Oh!" Rebecca exclaims. "Do you think that there might be other people stuck behind doors they can't open?"

Serah shrugs, callously.

"Well. It happened to me." She says, seriously. "I'm sure it could have happened to anyone, as there was no warning at all."

You slowly stand up, setting Rebecca carefully aside.

"I think... I think I'm going to look through the books. See if I can find something."

"Don't bother. I've already been through them all." Serah says, indifferently, as you pause in stepping towards the shelves. "Four Tickets, seven slips of unmarked paper, two pressed flowers, ten Money in small bills, a folded note and smug little sketch of the strategy the Master of this house used to defeat someone or another in an important chess match, a sketch of a forest, and a single tin button." She recites, tugging the items out of a pocket and setting them on the table as she names them. "This is all I found hidden among the books, after extensive searching. And with no boxes or drawers in this room, what you see inside now is all there is, I am afraid."

Rebecca looks a little thoughtful, eying those tickets. It looks like she's thinking about bartering for a reward, or something, as a gesture of good faith in exchange for releasing Serah.... into the greater part of a mansion with a mad axe-murderer running about, and a gaggle of undead past a fence outside.

Actually, you're suddenly thinking you might not mind releasing her from this single room that nobody can come in or out of without the proper key.

---

[ ] What do you do?

[x] You might be in here for a while. Check out the boardgames, globe, and suit of armor(including inside it) in addition to the books and bookshelves.

Jesus, I take a nap, and this happens?

Chad is still awesome as an axe-murderer, though.

Running plan, after we've picked the library clean, we trap Chad inside.

>"Four Tickets, seven slips of unmarked paper, two pressed flowers, ten Money in small bills, a folded note and smug little sketch of the strategy the Master of this house used to defeat someone or another in an important chess match, a sketch of a forest, and a single tin button."

Those tickets. We need them.

[x] "That note, does it contain anything useful?"
[x] "I could free you from here...for a price. How much is your freedom worth?"
[x] Last resort? Kill her. You've always wanted to do that. Killing Serah, not killing in general.

[X] Keep looking around.
[X] Ask to see the note

Is the tin button big enough to be a part/whole eye?

[x]Try to examine items
[x]Offer to team up with Serah
-[x]If she refuses, offer to let her out for a reasonable amount of tickets/items

Not exactly what I want most to happen, but she's intelligent and has just as much a stake in this as we do. I want a third member on our team to help explore the top floor.

I'm almost certain that the note is part of the note and picture of winning the chess game. So it's a description of the strategy, not something important

Holy shit that was a lot of updates.

Well, Serah's always been crazy, And its clear that there's some kind of influence thats in our minds, and apparently Chad's as well.

I think its safe to assume that Serah is literally a demon causing a lot of trouble here.

>>40450 here. Man, late again? My vote still applies, though. Should add stuff, though.

[x] Can you see these things she found?
-[x] Read note and chess thing, look at chess and forest sketch, and determine type of pressed flowers.
[x] Offer to let her out for a ticket for you, Rebecca and Jack, the unmarked pieces of paper, and the tin badge. As well as examination of the other stuff if she refused.
-[x] You might be talked down to a ticket for Rebecca and Jack, plus the additional stuff from previous.
[x] Make a mental note to ask Chad where he got the battleax next time he notices you.

At least some of that stuff is probably for puzzles. Some as hints, and others directly. And if not, we're also getting tickets.

If Chad didn't get his axe from the suit of armor, it's probably a puzzle.

"I could let you out, I suppose. Can I see the note?" You ask.

"Oh, by all means. Come and inspect whatever you please." She offers, smiling.

... Damn it. The table is right near the exit. Too close. You go to look at the stuff, the door will unlock by proximity. ... You get the feeling that she's guessed that, correctly, by the way that she's smiling. You decide not to step forward just yet, mulling things in your mind.

"You're smart enough..." You think aloud. "Maybe we could work together?"

"Oh, but didn't I tell you, John? I simply don't fraternize with the other contestants." She says, smile widening. "No doubt some strange social disorder... I don't play well with others, you see."

Well, that was a bust. You aren't sure you meant it seriously, but it could work as a distraction. Oh well.

"Fine, then. Step... that way. Over near the door. No funny moves, now." You instruct, cautiously moving around the room to approach the table. Serah holds her hands up with an almost innocent look on her face as she steps away from the goods, and waits.

There's a soft click, and she's backed through the door before you quite reach the table.

... Good riddance, you guess. You collect everything quickly, and then have another look around the library, not trusting her to have either been truthful, or to have not missed something.

Nothing. Nothing. Noth... there. A little, dusty lump, that your eyes passed over twice. Probably nothing, but you reach down behind the armor's stand and collect the loot anyway, smug that you've found something She missed.

You dust it off to find that it's a glass eye, a blue one. You don't know how it got here, and you aren't sure you want to know. You pocket it anyway.

The only thing else that you discover is that the chess board seems fused in place to its table, and pieces make a soft 'click' when you set them into place. Odd.

"Do you mind if... we stay here, for just a moment? Just a few minutes." Rebecca asks. "I'm not as young as I used to be, you see. All of this excitement is... well. Let's just sit down and rest for a moment. There doesn't seem to be any hurry."

True, the library does seem safe, for now. And your feet are still sore. You aren't sure you would be up to running, if you needed to. The thought of Serah sauntering around the mansion unwatched is a little worrying, of course, but she probably just made it down the hall to find Chad standing there, anyway. Maybe you can just sit down against the wall for a bit.

---

Competitors:
You-Jack (Partners, separated)
Rebecca- following your lead. Pleasant to touch. Doesn't seem to mind being touched much, protestations of matrimonial precedence to the contrary.

Chad- Axe-Murderin'
??"- Ax'd in the Grand Foyer
Serah- Trapped in the library, released.
Elaine-??"
Janet-??"


Inventory:
Voucher 1
Ticket x5
40M (In Jack's keeping)
10M
Rusted Pocket-knife
Unmarked Note-paper strips x7
Pressed Flower x2
Note + Sketch
Forest sketch
tin button
Glass Eye (blue)
Bronze Key

[ ] What do you do?

I have a feeling that she has some stuff hidden that she didn't tell us about.

[x]Examine Note, forest sketch, flowers, and pin
[x]Check out the immediately adjacent room to the North. Carefully

[x]You have a sketch depicting a series of chess moves and a chess board that makes odd clicking noises when pieces are moved. Do the obvious.

[X] Examine The chess sketch and begin to recreate it on the chessboard.

[x] Examine acquired items.
[x] Examine the chess set.
-[x] The voucher you got from that zombie had numbers and letters right? Maybe it's about chess coordinates? The notes on how the mansion's master won might also help.
[x] Have a small chat with Rebecca. About anything, really, get to know her, etc.

Holy shit, we got everything?
Score!

[x] >>40461
[x] Find a heat source such as a lightbulb or candle and hold the blank pieces of paper up to it.
[x] Formalize partnership with Rebecca, give her her current share of two tickets and three Money.

[x] Examine acquired items.
[x] Examine the chess set.
-[x] The voucher you got from that zombie had numbers and letters right? Maybe it's about chess coordinates? The notes on how the mansion's master won might also help.

[x] Examine acquired items.
[x] Examine the chess set.
-[x] The voucher you got from that zombie had numbers and letters right? Maybe it's about chess coordinates? The notes on how the mansion's master won might also help.
[x] Have small chat with Rebecca about anything, get to know her. Maybe offer partnership.

Ok, the glass eye is obviously for the angel statue in the main room, at least we got one. The battle axe might be part of a puzzle and that's bad news for us. Still wary of Serah, but she seems "lawful". Also, remember, the sooner you get laid, the sooner the mad killer gets to kill you.

The note doesn't so much display step by step strategy as a general sense of things, and from there, a sketch of the final position of the pieces.

Setting the board up, as Rebecca leans carefully into a wall and seats herself, it doesn't take long to discover that a few of the pieces noted in the final position are missing. You set it up otherwise, but nothing happens.

A quick rummaging through the rest of the items doesn't reveal anything odd, and holding papers up to light doesn't show any hidden messages or anything. It looks like they're just random things used to mark places in whatever books they were found in.

The code on the back of the voucher doesn't seem to be in any way related to chess, either. The letters aren't confined to just representation of pieces in any way. No link there.

You sigh in disappointment and sit down next to Rebecca.

"So... tell me about yourself?" You ask.

"Hm? What do you want to know about, dear?" she asks, a little sleepily.

"Well... anything, really." You admit. "I mean, it's not like we know much about one another. Maybe your home life?"

"Well, there's my husband, of course." She says. "We've been married for twenty years, now. I was seventeen at the time, and he was..."

She pauses, thinking.

"Yes. He was already forty three, then." She said.

"That's a bit of an age gap." You note. He was more than twice her age, technically.

"Age isn't so important, dearie. He was a charming man. Well off, very comfortably so. There were whispers of 'trophy wives' and the sort of backbiting that can be expected when a younger woman marries a wealthy elder gentleman, of course." She says. "But I did adore him, and the wedding was wonderful. Though the honeymoon was... a little disappointing, I suppose." She muses.

"How so?" You ask.

She pauses, and then looks at you.

".... It's really terribly embarassing, dear." She says, after a moment of thought. "You can't tell anyone, all right? You see, while I was ready to consumate our vows, he... well, that is to say... he had some difficulty... performing, I suppose, is the way it should be delicately put."

You wince.

"Oh, he tried, and took any number of pills. Nearly gave himself a heart attack, the poor thing, even when I told him that he didn't need to go to such lengths if he simply couldn't. He did manage, briefly, to... perform, but it didn't last. Long enough to finish things, and then only barely. He was quite upset." She said, thoughtfully. "He tried a few more times after then, over the years, and did put himself in the hospital for a brief period... it turned out there was some medical incapability from a condition. He's already begun to deteriorate a little even before learning that, but I had thought it was all of the medicines he had been trying..."

She blinks.

"Oh... I'm not sure I should have said so much, dear. It's a bit of a frustrating situation, though, I will admit. Even as the poor man can hardly walk these days..."

"It's fine. I won't tell anyone." You reply.

She nods, and leans back into the wall again. After a moment, her breathing evens out. She seems to have nodded off. Well, you're still tired yourself. You can probably afford to stay here for a few minutes, as long as you don't fall asleep.

... She slides down the wall, slowly, until she's leaning heavily against your side.

---

[ ] What do you do?

Guess what's in the maid's room?
Chess Pieces

I'd save it for a little later, though. Explore the mansion first, or something.

Voting later

[x] Watch out, and remind her that if locks can appear suddenly, they can disappear suddenly too. Tell her that you should get out before Chad comes back

and for yourself: Remember: Sex = Death Flag

[x] Give her a few minutes to rest, better to be ready to run for your life if Chad's still there or Serah is up to something.
-[x] It's fair for you to talk about yourself now.
-[x] Think about the unlikely event of the locks switching.
[x] Remember, sex = death flag. Be strong, there's plenty of time after the event when both of you make it alive.

Well, danger everywhere, a "psycho ex" somewhere in the mansion, a berserk Chad anywhere, Jack's lost, random people locked in places, and zombies outside the mansion.

[x] Give her a few minutes to rest, better to be ready to run for your life if Chad's still there or Serah is up to something.
-[x] It's fair for you to talk about yourself now.
-[x] Think about the unlikely event of the locks switching.
[x] Remember, sex = death flag. Be strong, there's plenty of time after the event when both of you make it alive.
[x] Check out the Northern room in the hallway outside

[x] Become formal partners with Rebecca, give her her share of two tickets and three Money.
[x] Take a chess piece, so nobody else can solve the puzzle while you're gone.
-[x] Heck, take them all if you've got room. It'll stop somebody else from pulling the same trick.

Assuming other people are hearing Creepy Betrayal Voice, it's really a matter of time before it points out to Rebecca that we've got five tickets and ten Money and she has nothing.

>>40470 Here, adding

[x] Become formal partners with Rebecca, give her her share of two tickets and three Money.
[x] Take a chess piece, so nobody else can solve the puzzle while you're gone.

In case there's two bronze keys, and to stick it to the "paranoia voice".

[X] Take 'em all if you can.

You sit there for a while, resting, until you feel like you would be up to a good sprint again. If you end up needing to, anyway. Then you nudge Rebecca awake. She blinks sleepily and yawns as you hand over a few M and a couple tickets.

"I think you should hang on to these." You say, rising.

"Ah? Really, that's fine, dear..."

"No, take them." You say. "Probably best one person doesn't hold on to everything, and I've got a lot in my pockets already, and I'm about to pick up more.

You walk over to the chess board and, after a moment, pick up the white knights, carved into the shape of crusaders on rearing stallions. You don't think you need to take everything, since you doubt much that there's another, identical note floating around, and Serah didn't seem interested in it at all. But just to be sure nobody can wander up and accidentally hit at the right result, somehow.

You would take them all, but while the pieces are small, your pockets won't stretch out forever. Nearly a full half of the entire set are still on the board at the final sketch, and that adds up. They're carved out of stone too, and heavy.

It looks like you've waited long enough, and Chad has left. Unfortunately, it looks like he probably left before Serah did, since there isn't any visible trace of her from the doorway, either. A cautious move over to the corner doesn't reveal anything down the hall. Probably safe, unless you cross paths with one of them again. You'll have to try to avoid that.

Rebecca is fully awake, now, and sticking close.

---

Competitors:
You-Jack (Partners, separated)
Rebecca- following your lead. Pleasant to touch. Doesn't seem to mind being touched much, protestations of matrimonial precedence to the contrary.

Chad- Axe-Murderin'
??"- Ax'd in the Grand Foyer
Serah- Trapped in the library, released.
Elaine-??"
Janet-??"


Inventory:
Voucher 1
Ticket x3
Ticket x2 (In Rebecca's care)
40M (In Jack's keeping)
7M
3M (In Rebecca's care)
Rusted Pocket-knife
Unmarked Note-paper strips x7
Pressed Flower x2
Note + Sketch
Forest sketch
tin button
Glass Eye (blue)
White Knights x2
Bronze Key

[ ] What do you do?

[x] Check out the Southern door of the hallway

Got to start somewhere. Might as well work our way up.

[x]Check the other rooms around you, the ones that are currently unlocked. Make sure to look for weapons, makeshift or not.

You check the south room, adjacent to the library.

Then, in a sort of disbelief, you check the northern one.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing to be found in either of these rooms. They're quite bare, with nothing on the floors, walls, or ceilings, and only a single window at the far end of each, looking out onto the grounds.

Did they just get stuck in to fill space? What sort of miserably shoddy architect would design a house that way? Maybe they're supposed to be used for storage, or something. Well, if they are, then that's clearly not what they're doing now.

Because they aren't doing anything now.

.... In any case, they're empty. And you're now very much relieved that you took the obvious path of the locked door, since if you had gone into either of these rooms...

Well, you very much doubt it would have ended well for you, with Chad hot on your heels.

---

[ ] What do you do?

[x] Check the southern room immediately outside the library.

[x] Fetch those chess pieces from the Maid's Room.

We'll probably get ambushed by someone doing this, but.. eh. The puzzle calls to me.

[x] Check the door to the left of the silver lock on the second floor

I figure Chad's waiting by the stairs for people. First floor or second, though, don't know.

Regarding the locks appearing, I'd give it a decent chance that there are some competitors trapped in the wine basement

[x] Check the door to the left of the silver lock on the second floor.
-[x] Search for weapons if possible while you are in there.
Get it out of the way, since we'll have to pass it eventually.

That's the second time I've been off by three minutes.

[x] Check whether there is roof to walk on outside the windows in the north and south room.
[x] Search unlocked room next to silver-locked room.

Looking out the windows, it's just a sheer drop down from here. And the fog seems much thicker, at this height... you can hardly see a thing.

You check the other side of the second-floor entry instead of fooling around further.

It's locks galore in the room on the other side. Every single exit has a lock on it except the one you just came through. Bronze for the west and north doors, and silver for the southern one.

There are a couple of paintings lit by flickering candle-light. Not really anything that could be converted into a weapon, though.

It's almost eerily silent, as you consider your options.

"... It looks like this south door is to the Wife's room.... it's right across from the Maid's." Rebecca says, thoughtfully. "That's an odd place to put it. The other one, to the west, isn't marked."

---

[ ] What do you do?

[x]Examine paintings
[x]Go to Maid's room

We at least know who she is, kind of. Half expecting her to be murdered by Marie in a fit of passion over her brother.

So, some musings. The mansion bottom floor is 19x10 squares, as is the (unfilled) grid of the top floor, and as is the outside view from way back in thread 6. I would guess that any unfilled room, therefore, is still filled; it just needs a way to get into. The exception is, for example, pillars.

I would guess, down to the East of the Foyer, are the kitchens and dining areas. People don't eat in their quarters, and a mansion would have to have a kitchen somewhere.

The basement likely has the torture areas and/or dumping grounds of the Master's many wives. And the final boss.

[x] Check the maid's room. Hopefully there will be a broom or something you can use as a staff.

[x] Head back to Maid's Assistant's room and retreive chess pieces. While you're over there, flush the toilet and grab the item inside while the water level is low. Then wash your hands and return to the room with all the paintings.

I'm thinking we should get the chess pieces before Serah finds them. She's not stupid and has probably figured out the significance of the chessboard.

Serah still can't get in to the Library again. And we have some of the pieces and the combination. Plus, given that she left like half an hour before us, if she wanted them, she'll already have them. She's definitely already downstairs (given that she's not upstairs)... unless she has a/the silver key.

[x] Recall appearance of Maid's chess pieces compared to the set in the library.

Normally I'd be all for popping down to the first floor, but, you know, Chad.

"Maids room it is." You decide, after glancing thoughtfully at the paintings. Apparently, the guy in charge liked random landscapes. Forests, mountains, beaches sort of thing. Doesn't seem important.

You enter the maid's quarters, keeping an eye open for improvised weapons, like brooms, or mops. You don't see one of those. There's a feather duster on the bed, though. A window, some drawers, and a closet.

What you do see is a little more interesting in some ways, and less in others. The maid.

Or what was the maid. Or is still the maid. Or something. In any case, it's standing in the closet, door open, pulling a Maid Uniform on. Once everything is in place, it lurches over to the bed and picks up the feather duster.

She's pretty obviously dead. Skin tone, and all. Doesn't stink of rot, but smells faintly of some sort of embalming fluid... probably why she's in such good condition. And the heavy patterns of scars working around her entire body, as though she was jigsawed apart into a thousand pieces, and then a little later stitched back together, are something of a clue.

She pauses in front of you, but doesn't seem to be preparing to attack. Just waiting. There's a dog-tag on her collar, and you can almost make out some of an inscribed 'If Lost, please return to:' message etched into it.

"Hrng?" She 'says', seeming a little impatient. ....... You... guess she wants you to move out of the way?

---

[ ] What do you do?

[x] Move out of the way
[x] Once she's gone, loot room

She might have keys, or she might just be magic, or she might not clean non-Bronze rooms. Who knows?

[X] Move out of way, quickly scan and loot room.
[X] Follow that maid!

An idea: the maid is already dead, but still moving... That means she could be a good decoy for going down the stairs. If Chad is whacking away at all things that go down, as long as maid-chan is in front of you you're pretty safe.

[x] Move out of the way
[x] Once she's gone, loot room

No sense in upsetting the undead maid. Especially since we don't have a weapon.

[X] Move out of way, quickly scan and loot room.
[X] Follow that maid!

This is such a good idea. Stalking the undead, fuck yeah.

[x] Compare forest sketch to paintings of forests. If a match is found, look behind that painting.
-[x] Actually, look behind all of the paintings.

> And the heavy patterns of scars working around her entire body, as though she was jigsawed apart into a thousand pieces, and then a little later stitched back together, are something of a clue.

let me guess... she's made up of the wives.

>>40494
[x] Compare forest sketch to paintings of forests. If a match is found, look behind that painting.
-[x] Actually, look behind all of the paintings.

This too.

[X] Move out of way, quickly scan and loot room.
[X] Follow that maid!
[x] Compare forest sketch to paintings of forests. If a match is found, look behind that painting.
-[x] Actually, look behind all of the paintings.
-[x] Try to remove anything suspicious from the frames using the pocket knife to avoid making a mess
--[x] If the maid reacts to the looting/searching in a hostile way, stop and apologize (and do it anyway when she isn't looking)

Zombie maid, psycho ex, mad killer, what's next? A vampire hunter? An ancient cursed mask?
Please, be an automaton and not sentient.
This is awesome.

You step aside and let her pass through. She staggers off without hesitation, once the way is clear.

You immediately loot the room. Quickly, but thoroughly, collecting two Tokens from the panty-drawer as the only items of immediate interest in the mass of clothes, bedding, laundry, and shoes, and then head off to follow her. It's not hard, she's barely made it to the bottom of the stairs when you reach her.

"You know, I think I might still be able to fit in an outfit like that." Rebecca says thoughtfully, as you tail the dead maid. "And there were several just hanging there. ... I'm not sure how I would carry it, or my other clothes, around though."

"Don't worry about it right now. I'm sure you'd look nice, you mutter distractedly, as the maid pauses in front of the slowly congealing blood stain in the foyer. She turns, and heads east. You follow her through the door, to the short hallway, and watch as she goes through the southern door.

"What do you think she's doing?" Rebecca asks.

After a moment, she staggers out, mop in one hand, dented, sloshing bucket of water and suds in the other. She pauses and stares, seeing you blocking her way again.

"...... Hrng?" She.... asks, you guess. It sounded like a question, anyway. Vaguely.

----

Competitors:
You-Jack (Partners, separated)
Rebecca- following your lead. Pleasant to touch. Doesn't seem to mind being touched much, protestations of matrimonial precedence to the contrary.

Chad- Axe-Murderin'
??"- Ax'd in the Grand Foyer
Serah- Trapped in the library, released.
Elaine-??"
Janet-??"


Inventory:
Voucher 1
Ticket x3
Ticket x2 (In Rebecca's care)
Token x2
40M (In Jack's keeping)
7M
3M (In Rebecca's care)
Rusted Pocket-knife
Unmarked Note-paper strips x7
Pressed Flower x2
Note + Sketch
Forest sketch
tin button
Glass Eye (blue)
White Knights x2
Bronze Key

[ ] What do you do?

[x] Investigate the Southern room (First Floor, Southeast)

Well, Kahi said he's sleeping, so rest easy for a bit, voters.

[X] "We're a little lost, do you mind if we follow you for a while?"
[X] Look for Jack while you're at it

[x] Oh, sorry. Move out of the way.
[x]>>40490

I'd assume she's going to be busy cleaning the bloodstains in the entrance for a bit.

[X] "We're a little lost, do you mind if we follow you for a while?"
[x] "We are looking for something lost, have you seen a glass eye somewhere?"
[X] Look for Jack while you're at it.

If she chases you off:
[x] Head back to Maid's Assistant's room and retreive chess pieces. While you're over there, flush the toilet and grab the item inside while the water level is low. Then wash your hands and return to the room with all the paintings.

In any case:
[x] Berserk-Chad is still on the loose, don't drop your guard.

This sidequest is really fun.
>"You know, I think I might still be able to fit in an outfit like that."
Please, don't forget about her after all this is done.

[x] While zombie maid is cleaning the blood, obtain the chess pieces and toilet object.

>>40506 here, almost forgot.
[x] Search ???'s body.
[x] Peek around things before you go through them. Muffled sound can be your friend.

[x] "We are looking for something lost, have you seen a glass eye somewhere?"
[x] Briefly imagine Rebecca in an uniform.
-[x] "You know, maybe we should take a look on those uniforms later."
[x] Search ???'s body.
[x] Head back to Maid's Assistant's room and retreive chess pieces. While you're over there, flush the toilet and grab the item inside while the water level is low. Then wash your hands and return to the room with all the paintings.
[x] Looting business done, go back to the maid, if she's still there. Maybe she can unlock the silver door to the Lady's room. The room probably needs some cleaning done.

Ok, the list got somewhat big, but two are pretty straighforward "Do X", shouldnt take long to do them.

Also, we should pay some more attention to Rebecca, she definetly seems to appreciate it, marriage or not.

[x] "We are looking for something lost, have you seen a glass eye somewhere?"
[x] Briefly imagine Rebecca in an uniform.
-[x] "You know, maybe we should take a look on those uniforms later."
[x] Search ???'s body.
[x] Head back to Maid's Assistant's room and retreive chess pieces. While you're over there, flush the toilet and grab the item inside while the water level is low. Then wash your hands.
[x] Looting business done, go back to the maid, if she's still there. Ask her if she has a silver key, or a means to open silver locks for you. The Lady's room probably needs some cleaning done.

Can't talk to the maid again if you're somewhere else.

I also reworded the last line a bit. She may have the key, but might not be willing to give it to someone else.

Rebecca is probably the last wife of the mansion owner.

She is the most likely person to kill us.

>>40513
that... would not surprise me much

>tons of updates

Holy shit, when did Kahi write all this?

[x] "We are looking for something lost, have you seen a glass eye somewhere?"
[x] Briefly imagine Rebecca in an uniform.
-[x] "You know, maybe we should take a look on those uniforms later."
[x] Search ???'s body.
[x] Head back to Maid's Assistant's room and retreive chess pieces. While you're over there, flush the toilet and grab the item inside while the water level is low. Then wash your hands.
[x] Looting business done, go back to the maid, if she's still there. Ask her if she has a silver key, or a means to open silver locks for you. The Lady's room probably needs some cleaning done.

Hurried vote, might change it when I catch up.

>>40513
Only problem is that Rebecca is from the outside, while the mansion isn't.

>>40513
>>40514

I must say that this idea bothers me a lot. I would be pretty pissed if Kahi used such a TWEEST.

[x] "We are looking for something lost, have you seen a glass eye somewhere?"
[x] Briefly imagine Rebecca in an uniform.
-[x] "You know, maybe we should take a look on those uniforms later."
[x] Search ???'s body.
[x] Head back to Maid's Assistant's room and retreive chess pieces. While you're over there, flush the toilet and grab the item inside while the water level is low. Then wash your hands.
[x] Looting business done, go back to the maid, if she's still there. Ask her if she has a silver key, or a means to open silver locks for you. The Lady's room probably needs some cleaning done.

What's up with Kahi these days? Updating at the speed of light can't be healthy for him.

Not that I'm complainning, of course. This speed is what we've always dreamed of, around here.

"Maybe we can take a look at the Maid's room again later." You say, before turning your attention to the maid herself. "We're, uh... lost." You try, hopefully. "Would you mind if we follow you around?"

"Hrng?" is the only reply you get. Okay. Maybe try this again.

"We're looking for something that has been lost." You say, waiting.

"Hrng?" Is the same reply, with the same tone.

".... Do you know where we can find a glass eye?"

"Hrng?" The maid says, repeating herself and not budging a bit in her stalwart refusal to give any sort of indication that she's more than a shapely, fleshy robot going about pre-set tasks according to a set of regulated guidelines.

"Maybe... do you have keys, that we can borrow?" You ask again.

"Hrng?" .... it looks like that's all you'll get out of her.

You hesitate a moment more, then sigh and step aside. She shuffles through as though you had never been there in the first place, continuing on to the foyer.

You move a little behind her, pausing only to take the time to loot the unknown contestant's corpse... or at least, that was the plan. However, it's not there any more. The blood all over the floor still remains, though, and you shift through the western hallway before the maid starts cleaning.

In the maid assistant's room, the doll is sitting smugly on its shelf, all the stuffed animals having been dismembered and thrown to the floor. You aren't certain who would do that, or what the point of it would be. In any case, the game pieces include... most of what you need. Almost all of the chess pieces that were missing. The White Queen and Black King are still gone, though. You'll have to keep looking and see if you can find those.

A quick detour to the bathroom shows that the dark object you saw before is no longer there. Looks like someone looted it already. Darn.

You go back to the maid, who is already making inroads on the widely splashed blood stain, and... those footprints a bit past her weren't there before, you think. They're heading south, at what looks like a running pace.

---

Competitors:
You-Jack (Partners, separated)
Rebecca- following your lead. Pleasant to touch. Doesn't seem to mind being touched much, protestations of matrimonial precedence to the contrary.

Chad- Axe-Murderin'
??"- Ax'd in the Grand Foyer
Serah- Trapped in the library, released.
Elaine-??"
Janet-??"


Inventory:
Voucher 1
Ticket x3
Ticket x2 (In Rebecca's care)
Token x2
40M (In Jack's keeping)
7M
3M (In Rebecca's care)
Rusted Pocket-knife
Unmarked Note-paper strips x7
Pressed Flower x2
Note + Sketch
Forest sketch
tin button
Glass Eye (blue)
Assorted Chess Pieces
Bronze Key

[ ] What do you do?

Hmm, to follow the trail or to finish investigating the place?

[x] Check the east rooms. Jack might still be there, and you might find something useful.

Hm, the way the entrance's window is broken, it's similar to how Chad axed the other windows. He might just have left after someone. Maybe Jack, hopefully Serah.

Also, who else bets the black king was the object in the toilet?

[x] Check the east rooms. Jack might still be there, and you might find something useful.
[x] Keep your guard up.

Let's keep our distance from Chad, it's not like we have a weapon or anything able to defeat him. Also, we need to find Jack before the voices get him, no more need for another psycho-killer.

[x] Check the east rooms. Jack might still be there, and you might find something useful.

Last time we saw Jack he was running east. Hopefully he hasn't moved around too much.

Also, it's odd that there's only one set of bloody footprints. If someone was being chased wouldn't there be two?

Coming from the north, and heading south....

Okay.

That's all the argument you need to go east, instead. You don't have any particular inclination towards either door, but having come out of it with things, you guess that the south one leads to some kind of janitorial supply closet. You decide on north instead.

It enters into a large kitchen.

There's some silverware on the counter, a few spatulas and ladles, pots and pans hanging on hooks, as well as a holder for sharp kitchen knives. Not the kitchen knives themselves, though. There's spaces for everything from a cleaver down, through slicing, chopping, and boning knives, and all that's actually set in the holder is what looks like a small paring knife, barely any larger than the rusty pocket-knife you picked up.

There's an enormous, heavy looking iron stove and oven, front opened up to display its interior. You think you see a flash of something in the coals at the very bottom. Along the top, the mystery contestant's corpse has been draped, stripped naked and dusted with what looks like maybe pepper, head set carefully on his chest, with a small apple stuffed in his mouth. It... would almost be a little funny if it wasn't so horrible to look at.

There are two windows to this room, one on either side of the stove, probably for ventilation if things get smoky. At the far end, there's a door with a bronze lock...

Through the window, you can suddenly hear a loud crashing noise from some distance away. Then a soft noise picks up, slowly gaining in intensity until you can almost properly make out the undead moanings. You try to tune that out.

---

[ ] What do you do?

[X] Bronze door saves.

pray that Chad is still alive, but busy fighting undead.

[x] Investigate stove (if off)
[x] Investigate Closet Quickly

Does the sound dampening not apply to zombies or something?

The stove sounds like a 'bring water from bucket at bathroom' puzzle.

[x] Go block the path of the zombies, being prepared to run to a room with a bronze lock.

Rebecca can't be the wife of the mansion guy, because she was married for more than six months.

[x] Any knife is good, and this one isn't dull. Also a sturdy pan might be good as a bludgeon.
[x] Inspect the object in the oven, try to turn it off and get it.
[x] Pray for the poor soul of ???.
[x] If sound only travels so far, watch out for Chad or sudden zombie invasion.
-[x] What's outside the window?
[x] Head as fast as you can to the locked door.

So, Chad is also a cannibal?

>>40529

It works only if the noise's source is inside the mansion. You can hear the outside easily.

[x] Rebeca will be able to hear you from the outside. Give her the key and investigate the noises.
[x] Ask her to check what's hidden in the oven, while you're out. If danger/Chad shows up, she's to hide in the bronze room. Otherwise, wait for you to return.

[x] Any knife is good, and this one isn't dull. Also a sturdy pan might be good as a bludgeon.
[x] Inspect the object in the oven, try to turn it off and get it.
[x] Pray for the poor soul of ???.
[x] If sound only travels so far, watch out for Chad or sudden zombie invasion.
-[x] What's outside the window?
[x] Head as fast as you can to the locked door.

>>40534
Wait... isn't this survival horror? wouldn't splitting up trip a death flag?

You reach quickly down into the ash and unlit coals at the bottom of the stove and pull out a small diamond ring.

There's an inscription inside. "To my Alyssa, may we Only part in Death."

You brush the dust off and stick it in your pocket before heading back out for a window. You can't see what's going on in front through the side, after all.

.... What you see as you peer through the bashed down window of the foyer isn't exactly what you would call a good thing.

The Gate is open. A bit between it and the front door, Chad is swearing wildly and swinging that monster of an axe about, hacking down the seemingly endless swarm of undead bogging him down.

He doesn't seem to be getting tired, and each swing either destroys or incapacitates what it's aimed at. But there's just too many zombies, and he can't shake them all off. Slowly, but surely, he's being overwhelmed.

You step back away from the easily-clambered-through window, not really sure what to do about this. The maid is standing a bit to the side, staring blankly at the destroyed aperture, as Rebecca peers through herself, taking a startled breath. Slowly, she lurches away, east again, setting the mop down in the bucket and leaving that duty sit for the moment.

---

[ ] What do you do?

[x] Thank chad for his psychotic sacrifice
[x] Check the south room, Quickly.
[x] once done, or whenever needed, retreat to other bronze room

Thread's getting pretty long, will we make a new one soon?

[x]Go check the last locked room inside the kitchen, fast.
-[x] Get whatever improvised weapon you can and the knife in the kitchen.
-[x]Loot everything is to loot.
[x] Search for Jack in the supplies closet.
[x] Check the progress of the zombies

And now we know that we should had bought the shotgun several updates ago.
Does that mean Chad has the golden key!" Crap.

>>40540
No, I think he's the one who smashed the windows right? he probably exited the mansion from them (much like we did before) only thing is he went for the gate later.

>>40540

Maybe not him. The loud sound we heard earlier could be the zombies actually breaking the gate down. Unliky, yes, but still a possibility. Maybe Chad was the only one running out because he knew what was happening?

[x] Check the last unlocked room. Loot everything there is to loot.
-[x] Always be ready to run into the kitchen's locked room.

>>40542
>Unliky

Unlikely, damnit.

New thought: maybe someone did find the golden key and opened the gate. Would explain why Chad was running and jumped throught the window. It's also unlikely that the gold key could be found without the bronze/silver keys, but we did find the bronze key inside a locked room. It's finder could also have been inside it's room before it locked.

South first, then north.

Quickly.

The supplies closet has shelves stocked full of soaps and handiware, tools and things. There's a small hook labeled "Butler's spare" from which you guess a key would hang, if there were a key hanging there. Several buckets are clean, others have thick layers of muck in the bottom, all sitting next to the closet-sink.

The maid has picked up a few planks under one arm, and is holding a hammer and small sack of nails in the other.

"Hrng?" She says, stopping in front of you, and waiting. You move aside automatically, and she staggers past you.

It looks like that's the only hammer, that she's walking out with. You think you'll leave her to it, since you think you know what she's about to do, and you can't really disagree with boarding up smashed down windows at this point. Aside from that, there's a couple old mops and a broken broom, sitting in the corner.

---

[ ] What do you do?

[x] grab the mops and broom
[x] see if there are any metal tools, such as saws and chisels and bring them back with you too
[X] Retreat! to the bronze room!

I think the spare was a bronze key.

[x] Check the last locked room.

After we visit the last door, we need to see what the glass eye will do when we give it back to the statue. If nothing happens, we can just take it with us again.

Only two bronze locks left to open~

[x] Grab the mops and broom.
[x] See if there are any metal tools, such as saws and chisels and bring them back with you too.
[x] Last locked room in the first floor, here we go!

So, an unnacounted key (maybe) and Chad, who is in the middle of a zombie horde, might or might not have the golden key.
Also agree on the glass eye, we need to know if they even fit before we keep searching them.

>>40548
I'd guess Jack has it. The doors not locked, and Jack was last seen running off to the East, and he's smart.

The broom splinters uselessly as you try to pick it up. No good.

The mops are, for the moment at least, fine to move around. You pick those up, and hand one immediately over to Rebecca, who holds it awkwardly.

"Should be light enough to swing, but just heavy enough to hit things with." You think aloud. "... I guess. Uh, do you see anything else in here?"

She shakes her head, looking nervously back down the path to the foyer.

"Do you think they'll get in...?" She frets.

"Here's hoping they don't. Looks like they're doing us a favor... keeping Chad down, and he's doing us one by holding them off a bit. Funny how that works out." You say thoughfully, moving along to the last door.

It opens. Inside, you can see... what was her name. Elaine? Huddled in the corner and sobbing in the dark. The room is oddly cold, and there's only one candle to light it, over at the far end to the east. Shelves are stocked with foodstuffs and sundries. Fruits and grains, some loaves of bread, jugs of milk, eggs and the like. Meathooks are hanging down from the ceiling at the far end of the larder.

From the meathooks, lit by the single candle, are a side of beef, half a pig, several plucked chickens, a young lamb, and the heavily butchered and mutilated torso and head of what you guess was once a beautiful young woman, clad only in a bridal veil.

It's too much for Rebecca, a 'last straw' of some kind, and she stumbles just a bit out of the larder before noisily voiding her stomach onto the kitchen floor.

"Vooooooow...." The torso croaks, slowly, like a deep breath slowly exhaled. Elaine's sobs redouble, despite that it makes no other action... technically, 'can't' do anything, really, given the lack of limbs and how it's being held up by a meat-hook.

"Giiiiive.... iiiiit.... baaaack...." it moans, thrashing weakly before going still again.

.... Urgh, has she been stuck in here with that thing this whole time, not able to do anything about it, or leave? That... yeah, that would be a little tough on the psyche, you think.

You can hear hands starting to thump testingly against the windows of the kitchen. That.... that was fast. You guess Chad isn't bothering them any more...

---

Competitors:
You-Jack (Partners, separated)
Rebecca- following your lead. Pleasant to touch. Doesn't seem to mind being touched much, protestations of matrimonial precedence to the contrary.

Chad- Axe-Murderin' zombie-nommed
??"- Ax'd in the Grand Foyer
Serah- Trapped in the library, released.
Elaine- Trapped in the larder. Sobbing incoherently.
Janet-??"


Inventory:
Voucher 1
Ticket x3
Ticket x2 (In Rebecca's care)
Token x2
40M (In Jack's keeping)
7M
3M (In Rebecca's care)
Rusted Pocket-knife
Unmarked Note-paper strips x7
Pressed Flower x2
Note + Sketch
Forest sketch
tin button
Glass Eye (blue)
Assorted Chess Pieces
Mop
Mop (Rebecca)
Diamond Ring
Bronze Key

[ ] What do you do?

[x] Give what back? Her limbs? The maid's limbs? Run as fast as you can and bring her/it here.
[x] After whatever happens between the two zombies, run back to the statue and place the eye on it.

Sounds like the meat zombie wants the ring. Give it to her?

[x] show zombie ring
-[x] if she reacts, give to her
[x] talk to Elaine
-[x] comfort her

[x] "I warned you about staying together..."
[x] Give ring to corpse
[x] Slap befriend some sense into Elaine.
[x] get elaine and rebecca to grab some meat. Diversion for the zom-noms.

If you could tie a meathook to the mops, you'd have a semi-deadly weapon.

I think it wants the ring, but I don't know how we'd give it to her since she has no limbs. I guess we'd have to put it in her mouth? Much as I'd like to help the restless dead, it's best we keep our fingers well away from their teeth. Besides, if we can bring it back to the city it should be worth a some cash.

[x] Get Elaine out of the room and try to calm her down.

Oh... cruds... I just realized something. People became locked in rooms because our group was the last to come into the mansion... effectively giving us the advantage.

There may be people still locked in the basement and some silver rooms, but jack's fate looks grim.

[x] Consider ease of swinging battleax.
[x] Grab the paring knife.
[x] Let Elaine out if she'll help you with the zombies.
[x] Pop into supply closet for more planks and nails.
[x] Have everyone board up the windows, hammering in the nails with a pot.
-[x] Starting with the ones in the kitchen, then moving on to the one in the entrance, and the one in the page's room.
-[x] If the zombies are concentrated elsewhere, exit through the bathroom window and enter the two missing windows. Bar the bathroom window and the window of the room you're currently in with a mop.

So there's a bunch of puzzle stuff, but that can wait.

[x]>>40556

Guys, this isn't a puzzle segment. This is an action segment.

[x] "I warned you about staying together..."
[x] Slap/befriend some sense into Elaine.
[x] Get elaine and rebecca to grab some meat. Diversion for the zom-noms.
[x] Meanwhile, go to the statue and give it the glass eye. Retrive it, if nothing happens.

"I told you, didn't I? Stay together...."

Elaine's sobs continue for a moment, then she lurches to her feet.

"Air... stuck in here, in the dark... I need..." She croaks, stumbling out into the kitchen. You can hear her breathing raggedly in there.

Sighing, you pull out the diamond ring and display it in front of the corpse.

"Are you.... Alyssa?" You ask. "I think this is-"

"MINE!" It screeches, trying and failing to thrash meaningfully again. "GIVE IT TO ME!"

"Alright, alright. Hold your horses, I'lll just..."

You pause, thinking this through. No arms or legs, so no fingers or toes to put it on. You guess you'll have to put it in.... in her mouth, yes. Definitely no other option here.

"Please, please don't bite me when I do this.... " You groan to yourself, already considering just how bad of an idea it is as you carefully extend your fingers. The mouth opens expectantly, unnaturally wide, and you carefully set it on the-mouth slammed closed on your fingers, fuck fuck ff........ she isn't biting, though. Just holding your fingers there, as she works her tongue around to move the ring out of your loose grip, and swallow.

She still doesn't let you go immediately, but takes a moment to slide her tongue around your fingers a few times again, delicately. Thankfully, you guess. And only then lets you retract them. You feel a little... somehow, both gratified and violated. Just a bit.

Then the corpse heaves and vomits, as you step quickly back. The mess left on the floor contains... a Silver Key, and the White Queen chess piece. Only the Black King left to find.

"Your reward." it says, in a more normal tone, seeming much calmed as it stills again, seeming a little at peace now. You pick the items up, gingerly.

.... There's a pair of shrieks, and a crash of breaking glass, from the kitchen. You dart back out just in time to see Rebecca swatting at the dead arms dragging Elaine through the jagged, splintery, broken glass of one of the windows. Then she backs away, seeming to realize that there is nothing to be done, as Elaine's shrieks stop. A strip of... stuff, falls off one of the glass splinters still in its frame to slide down the wall to the floor.

---

Elaine- zombie-nommed

Diamond ring lost
White Queen Gained
Silver Key gained.

[ ] What do you do?

[x] Feel regret for Elaine.
[x] >>40556

So as I was saying, we need to board up them windows.

[x] Grab 'stuff'
[x] Flee quickly upstairs

[x] Study Strip
[x] hightail it out of there
[x] Second floor. Now.

[x] Grab strip of stuff
[x] Upstairs, towards the last bronze locked room!

[x] Consider ease of swinging battleax.
[x] Grab the paring knife.
[x] Pop into supply closet for more planks and nails.
[x] Have everyone board up the windows, hammering in the nails with a pot.
-[x] Starting with the ones in the kitchen, then moving on to the one in the entrance, and the one in the page's room.
-[x] If the zombies are concentrated elsewhere, exit through the bathroom window and enter the two missing windows. Bar the bathroom window and the window of the room you're currently in with a mop.

This incident clearly shows that boarding up windows is a good idea. Board up the windows that aren't broken NOW, so there are no zombies in the house LATER.

[x] Grab 'stuff'
[x] Grab the paring knife.
[x] Flee quickly upstairs

[x] Grab the paring knife.
[x] Pop into supply closet for more planks and nails.
[x] Have everyone board up the windows, hammering in the nails with a pot.
-[x] Starting with the ones in the kitchen, then moving on to the one in the entrance, and the one in the page's room.
-[x] If the zombies are concentrated elsewhere, exit through the bathroom window and enter the two missing windows. Bar the bathroom window and the window of the room you're currently in with a mop.

While I'm sure you're all impatient, caution is best.

Entirely aside from the risk involved in getting close enough to grab that, you don't want to pick it up. It's a meaty, jiggly strip of...blech.

You'll have to remember not to get drug through broken glass any time soon. That can't have been pleasant, while she could still feel it. For the moment, you grab hold of Rebecca and book it.

Out of the kitchen and away from windows, through the foyer... looks like mopping is on either temporary or indefinite hold, here. And up the stairs. You pause at the second floor, breathing heavily.

"Okay." You say, after catching your breath. "We should stay away from downstairs windows. Glass isn't hard to break through."

"Just... punched through." Rebecca stammers, before taking a deep breath. "Then grabbed her, and..."

You feel a little regret that you hadn't gotten to the larder sooner, before the zombies made it to the inner-grounds. Back when there was just an angry axe-murderer running around.

.... actually, she probably would have been safest if she'd just stayed in the dark, confined space with the angry corpse that couldn't have hurt her even if it wanted to, no matter how traumatizing that might have been.

Hindsight, huh.

---

[ ] What do you do?

[x] Go back downstairs, board up windows.

You fucking idiots.

>>40571
Frankenmaid's taking care of that. She also has the only hammer.

[x]Check out the Bronze Key room you haven't been in yet.

[x] check out Silver doors, first the one at the end of the hall
[x] afterwards look in the only bronze room left
Geez, what happened in the F1 SW room? Is maid-chan dead?

>>40571
It's not as bad as all that.

[x] Head back downstairs, break all the windows but the one in the bathroom with the long reach of a mop, then head back up.
-[x] Make sure the maid does not see you.
-[x] While in the kitchen, grab that paring knife.

Seriously, why haven't we gotten that knife? We've been right by it for ages and people have been saying to pick it up.

>>40571
its dangerous and it takes time. The faster you get both eyes the better.

let meido do the work and besides, you're probably too late, and getting near the windows is very risky

>why haven't we gotten that knife?

Because I keep updating before seeing votes to pick it up.

This is kind of my fault, so I'll go ahead and retcon the knife into your possession. It'll show up next time I show an inventory.

[x] Take a maid uniform and give it to Rebecca. There will be time for it, soon.
[x] Last bronze locked room after that.

We will have to search for Jack before entering the silver rooms.

>>40575
Fine. But I don't think 'meido' is going to board up the unbroken windows.

>>40571 here, changing.

[x] Standing order: when next in kitchen, obtain Paring Knife.
[x] Head back downstairs, break all the windows but the one in the bathroom with the long reach of a mop, then head back up.
-[x] Make sure the maid does not see you.

Paring knife gets its own thing.

>>40578
Never mind about the knife bits.

[x] Head back downstairs, break all the windows but the one in the bathroom with the long reach of a mop, then head back up.
-[x] Make sure the maid does not see you.
-[x] Only do this if maid is not horribly mangled in Assistant's room.

We can go down, break all the windows, and head back really quick. If there's zombies, we run to a locked door or take 'em out.

Why waste time? The maid isn't that fast, she won't fix all windows nefore some zombies get in

"Actually, I think the maid is boarding up the windows. But I'm not sure she'll bother with the ones that aren't broken..." You say, after a moment of thought.

Maybe you should go back downstairs... yeah. Probably don't really need to bother with the butler's room, since you aren't sure that the maid can get through the lock, and you're fairly certain the zombies can't, so those two are blocked off fine. The other one in the kitchen, though, and in the foyer....

You head back down, carefully, and make your way to the foyer window, Rebecca right behind you.

As it turns out, you don't need to worry about breaking windows.

The zombies are doing that very well by themselves, as they crack it open and squirm through, ignoring the way they're being shredded by broken glass as they do so.

On the other hand, they're treating the Maid like they would anyone else, you guess, and the Maid is ignoring the way they're latching on to her and trying to chew and rip her apart almost as easily. Looks like her skin and flesh is a lot tougher than normal, through some sort of treatment. She essentially just leaves them be until they become cumbersome then, as you watch, pries them off of herself, mashing skulls into pulp with the hammer, other zombie skulls, and her bare hands, before getting back to ponderously nailing boards into place.

Her outfit hasn't fared nearly so well under the onslaught as she has, being fairly tattered where she only has roughly skin-deep wounds, but still.

"All right. That's fairly impressive." You mumble to yourself.

... It does look like her work is getting a little shoddier as speed increases in an attempt to keep up with the zombies crawling in. She seems to have a decent grip on things for the moment, though. You guess. Don't seem to be any zombies milling about in the foyer except for having come in through that window and run right into the maid, anyway.

"... I don't know how much help we would be, here." Rebecca says, thoughtfully.

---

[ ] What do you do?

[x] Bronze door, and then begin to search the silver doors.
[x] keep an eye out for Jack, though he's probably dead.

[x]Go check out the other bronze locked room.

As I was going to say earlier, if the zombies can't break through a window than there's no need to break it for them, and if they can the maid will take care of it. So yeah, going back was bloody stupid. Try thinking before voting next time, thanks.

[x] Take a maid uniform and give it to Rebecca. There will be time for it, soon.
[x] Last bronze locked room after that.

Sure, there are zombies gettin in, but that won't stop me from flirting with the delicious milf.

>>40587
total agreement. Wasted precious time backtracking. Its not like we could have helped meido-chan anyways

[x] Compare forest sketch to paintings of forests. If a match is found, look behind that painting.
-[x] Actually, look behind all of the paintings.

Hey, no harm in being cautious. I am getting some major harsh vibes from you, man.

[x] Take a maid uniform and give it to Rebecca. There will be time for it, soon.
[x] Last bronze locked room after that.
[x] Look for Jack too.

Don't forget about jack, now. Either he's outside, or he's on the second floor, along with Serah. I doubt they have a silver key too.

[x] Bronze door, and then begin to search the silver doors.
[x] keep an eye out for Jack, though he's probably dead.

Not much we can do down here.

I have a feeling that Jack's going to be the obligatory person who gets bitten but doesnt die. Since you know, He's so 'lucky'.

>>40590
Also
[x] Do not give a maid uniform to Rebecca.

For a multitude of reasons, including her married status, the likely prohibitive size of even a folded uniform, and the zombies currently attempting to enter the mansion, I feel that this is a silly idea.

I'd be all for going and chatting with whatsername at the bakery when this is over, though.

Interestingly, there are three windows on the North of the first floor, but we've only seen one after going to all the rooms. No way of getting there now, with the zombies, but it's interesting, isn't it?

You retreat, and leave the maid to her work, heading back upstairs.

".... Well, we're here." You say, stopping at the maid room and stepping in. "If you want to pick up a uniform, there's no better time. Or the time probably won't get any better. One of those."

"Ah?" Rebecca says, startled. "Um, no, I couldn't..."

"You're the one that brought it up, right?" You say. "But it's fine. If you don't want to, then leave it be. Don't worry about it."

"No, that is..." She dithers for a moment, then shakes her head. "... All right, then, dear. Um... this house doesn't seem safe, but... don't leave. I mean, don't leave the room, I'm not sure I want to be too far away from someone, now. But don't peek, either! I'll be in the closet..."

She steps in, and carefully closes the door behind her. It's one of those folding things, with the bars of wood that don't quite make up a solid door. You can't really make out any details through it, but you can still see the generalities of her changing clothing.

.... You're terribly tempted to peek. Maybe throw the doors open and do more than just look. But you swallow the juvenile impulse down and maintain your maturity, waiting patiently as she finishes and steps out, fidgeting, a slight blush on her cheeks.

The outfit seems a size or so too small for her, hugging her body like a second layer of skin, and showing off every curve and expanse in the way her casual dress from before didn't. The bust is straining to hold itself together, and the hem-line is riding a good bit further up the thigh than it did on the actual maid, despite Rebecca's best attempts to tug it down and into place.

"I... I've never worn anything like this before." She admits. "Is it... supposed to be so, um...?"

"It's fine." You manage to say. "But if you want to change back, go ahead, I suppose."

"It's... very breezy." She says, after a moment. "And much... um, tighter than what I normally wear. It doesn't make me look...?"

"No, you look great." Possibly too nice, you think, as the words stumble out before you've realized. You have to remind yourself of the situation. And that she's married.

She still seems happy with the compliment.

"Actually... I think I'll stay in this, dear. I mean, it isn't... well, as though mind being carried around... if you need to. But I think that I can run properly in this. Not, um, very ladylike..." She says hesitantly. "But I don't think this will trip me up, if I have to."

You have some logical objections to this, balanced by her logical argument to stay in it, but it's not like you can just go over there and rip the clothes off of her, after all.

You try not to think about it too hard, as you check out the last bronze room, and Rebecca carries her old dress folded up under one arm, ready to drop at a moments notice.

It's a bathroom. You presume that's the Butler, there, sitting in the bathtub full of red water.

You don't think that it's rust coloring it.

---

[ ] What do you do?

[x] Compare forest sketch to paintings of forests. If a match is found, look behind that painting.
-[x] Actually, look behind all of the paintings.

[x] Check the room, as usual, maybe including the butler too.
[x] Check the forest painting.
[x] Check every other room here for Jack. Then go to the Lady's room.

[x] Investigate room
-[x] Try to drain water in tub

Maybe something's in it

>>40599
[x] Then, check out the Lady's room

>>40597 here, please add >>40599 to my vote, if it's not too much trouble and the two things are short enough.

[x] check if the butler is a zombie
[x] Check portraits
[x] check tub

Okay, time to check the room thoroughly.

Nothing in the toilet, or in the more fluffy, but plain towels. Check of cabinets and cupboards turns up nothing except an assortment of floral soaps and shampoos. Dustbin is empty. Sink has nothing abnormal.

That leaves the bathtub. It's not something you want to do with the water opaque, but you go ahead, roll up your sleeve, and start fishing around in the bottom anyway, looking for a plug.

No... no... no plug here...

Ah. Here we go, this could be it. You grab and tug. Then tug again. Stuck good. You give it another tug, and it pulls free.

.... the water isn't draining. With a sense of dread, you lift your hand out of the water. Then you slowly lower it again and let go, before Rebecca can see, and make a silent, heartfelt apology to the butler, as you continue fishing around.

There's the plug. This time for real. Bubbles come up between the man's thighs as you tug it free, draining the fluid away to reveal the red-stained nether regions of the Butler.

"... Oh my. Why on earth would the poor man do such a thing to himself?" Rebecca wonders, a little aghast.

"Who knows." You say flatly, mentally apologizing again. You wash your hands very thoroughly. It seems like if there was something in here, it's been looted by someone else already.

A quick check of the paintings, to take your mind off the bathroom, reveals nothing behind most of them. There's 20M tucked in the back of the Forest-landscape frame, though. You take that without hesitating, and put it back up on the wall.

---

Competitors:
You-Jack (Partners, separated)
Rebecca- following your lead. Pleasant to touch. Doesn't seem to mind being touched much, protestations of matrimonial precedence to the contrary.

Chad- Axe-Murderin' zombie-nommed
??"- Ax'd in the Grand Foyer
Serah- Trapped in the library, released.
Elaine- Trapped in the larder. Sobbing incoherently. Zombie-nommed.
Janet-??"


Inventory:
Voucher 1
Ticket x3
Ticket x2 (In Rebecca's care)
Token x2
40M (In Jack's keeping)
27M
3M (In Rebecca's care)
Rusted Pocket-knife
Paring Knife
Unmarked Note-paper strips x7
Pressed Flower x2
Note + Sketch
Forest sketch
tin button
Glass Eye (blue)
Assorted Chess Pieces
Mop
Mop (Rebecca)
Maid Outfit (Rebecca)
Bronze Key
Silver Key

[ ] What do you do?

[x] Check the other rooms for Jack before entering the Lady's room.

[x] Check the other rooms for Jack before entering the Lady's room.

Not much else to do. The other silver lock must take to a third flor or something

[x] Give Rebecca her share of seven more Money and a token.

Man I hope Jack's okay.

[X] Check the other rooms on the second floor for jack, then check The Lady's room

I hope the maid's duties include killing zombies, because I don't want to go downstairs

[x] Search the room to the north and its adjoining closet-thing.
[x] Give Rebecca her share of seven more Money and a token.

>Paring Knife
Much obliged.

Man, it's going to be hard going back to Yukkuri Cafe shenanigans after (presumably) surviving a zombie apocalypse.

>>40609
This is so much more fun, I agree.

>>40609
I'm looking forward to the return, myself. Serah and Jack are the only interesting characters in this place, and they're not here right now.

>>40609

We have more tickets. The chanes of Yukari setting up something like this again are high.

You quickly hand off some of the Money and a token to Rebecca, then check the rest of the rooms on this floor. All still devoid of inhabitants, it seems. You come back to find that the painting you set up has fallen off of its nail, you must not have put it on right. You put it back up again.

Then you enter the Lady's Quarters.

It's a bit frilly, but very elegant. Classy. There's several fancy ballroom gowns and elaborate nightwears hanging in the closet, and an armoire set across the room from a desk and mirror. The bed is one of those four-post things with a hanging set of drapes. A diary is set on the desk, and a bridal gown, sans the veil, sits on the bed.

"Oh..." Rebecca says, thoughtfully. "I don't think it would be a good idea to wear any of those. I don't think I'd be able to even walk on my own, really."

They do look like sort of burdensome clothes. You think that one has a built-in corset.

---

[ ] What do you do?

[x] Search the room. Check the closet, armoire, desk, under the bed, and the bridal gown.
[x] Read the diary.

[x] Search the room, read books, see if there's anything hidden in the top bit of the bed or under it, inspect armoire and desks.
[x] Is bridal gown small enough for Rebecca to carry when folded?

Maybe we have to take the bridal gown to the torso in the larder. It has the veil but no dress.

[x] Search the room, read books, see if there's anything hidden in the top bit of the bed or under it, inspect armoire and desks.
[x] Inspect clothes too.
[x] Is bridal gown small enough for Rebecca to carry when folded?

Probably something in a pocket.

[x] "Don't worry, you're good in your current clothes. Very good..."
[x] Search the room, read books, see if there's anything hidden in the top bit of the bed or under it, inspect armoire and desks.
[x] Is bridal gown small enough for Rebecca to carry when folded?

Why would we take the gown, may I ask?

>>40618
Because we might have to get that veiltorso the full outfit.
Why would we be a lech, may I ask?

>>40619
This slattern obviously likes it. The more death flags triggered for her the better.

>>40615

Unfortunately, dresses are really hard to wear without arms. Just saying.

>>40621
True. It probably can't hurt to bring it with us when we go downstairs though, since there is a chance.

>>40620

Stop with this bullshit, there is no reason to think that way. You all thought the black was going to die first, yet he did not.

And just FIY, we've already avoided her death before. Character's death have nothing to do with their clothes/relationship.

[x] "Don't worry, you're good in your current clothes. Very good..."
[x] Search the room, read books, see if there's anything hidden in the top bit of the bed or under it, inspect armoire and desks.
[x] Is bridal gown small enough for Rebecca to carry when folded?

I'm gonna follow taking the gown, even though believing the same corpse who alteady gave a key will give another, is nothing more than simple wishful thinking. There is also the matter of cannibalistic zombies between John and the corpse.

[x]Search the room

No need to bring the dress along just yet, and I very highly doubt the limbless corpse down there has any use for it, even if you wanted to wade through a potential pile of zombies to get it to her.

It should also be noted that the dress is likely quite heavy, so hauling it around isn't practical.

You go through the room with a fine-toothed comb.

The bridal gown doesn't have any pockets, but could conceivably be carried around. Not easily. But conceivably. Folding it would probably crease it a little, though. You don't think anyone would mind, however.

There doesn't seem to be anything in the closet but clothes, and nothing in them either. You leave that alone after some poking about in the pockets.

The drawers of the armoire contain scents and beautification supplies, stockings, and underthings. The contents seem a little jumbled up. Either she wasn't very neat about things, or someone has already been through here. Desk drawers are similarly bare of anything that stands out as abnormal, though it does contain a grainy photograph of what you eventually recognize as Alyssa, at a wedding service.

She's much prettier un-mutilated. There's also a sewing kit in one of the drawers.

Nothing under the bed. Checking on top of the thick drapery-things, however, reveals a single Token, that had, it seems, been missed by the previous searcher.

Looting finished, you turn to the diary.

Alyssa reveals herself to be a somewhat sweet and romantic girl through the reading, though a bit naive. She admits that her new husband makes her 'a little uncomfortable sometimes', but the marriage offer was far more than she had ever expected from her station in life, owed only to her looks.

She seems to realize that the previous couple of wives, at least, have died mysteriously, but doesn't seem to grasp how many, and how often, his wives have died mysteriously. She just notes that it's sad how this man seems to keep losing his loved ones, but that she's a bit inspired by how he presses on to try to find happiness.

..... And now she's hanging from a meat-hook downstairs.

---

Competitors:
You-Jack (Partners, separated)
Rebecca- following your lead. Pleasant to touch. Doesn't seem to mind being touched much, protestations of matrimonial precedence to the contrary.

Chad- Axe-Murderin' zombie-nommed
??"- Ax'd in the Grand Foyer
Serah- Trapped in the library, released.
Elaine- Trapped in the larder. Sobbing incoherently. Zombie-nommed.
Janet-??"


Inventory:
Voucher 1
Ticket x3
Ticket x2 (In Rebecca's care)
Token x2
Token x1 (In Rebecca's care)
40M (In Jack's keeping)
20M
10M (In Rebecca's care)
Rusted Pocket-knife
Paring Knife
Unmarked Note-paper strips x7
Pressed Flower x2
Note + Sketch
Forest sketch
tin button
Glass Eye (blue)
Assorted Chess Pieces
Mop
Mop (Rebecca)
Maid Outfit (Rebecca)
Bronze Key
Silver Key

[ ] What do you do?

Either Janet's more competent than we thought, or Serah somehow already got a silver key. Well, not much we can do.

[x]Check out the last silver locked door

[x] silver door

[x] Pry open with your knife the frame that fell, maybe there was something inside that moved.
[x] Silver door

Nothing else to do, I think.

[x] Last silver door.
[x]Pry open fallen frame if easy. Use dull knife.
[x] Make a mental note to bring that dress down to the torso next time you go downstairs. Be prepared to drop it and run.

God I hope this isn't stairs,

With not much else to do, you check behind the last silver door on this floor.

Why, there are stairs behind it. What an unforeseeable turn of events.

There's really nothing more to be said on this matter.

---

[ ] What do you do?

Looks like next update is going to be in a new thread. Huh.

Also: the frame seems to be quite solid, and the pieces fitted together with strong glue. It's not hollow, as far as you can tell.

Above because I somehow missed putting the only other pertinent action into the update. Yeah.

[x] Go up the stairs. BACKWARDS.

I figured I'd vote for something ORIGINAL.

[x]Go up the stairs. FORWARDS.

The more locked doors between us and zombies (i.e., one), the better

[x] go up the stairs

>>40641

New thread

[x] Go up the stairs.
-[x] Keep your guard up.

Hooray, third level!
I think Jack might have bit the dust by now, unless he's really lucky.