Fandom Darkness

[Kimona]

Ryuu nods a bit as she listens.
You thought you was starting to get it.
"So what are the branches, and what kind of things are you researching from them?"
You ask.
His players?
What does that mean?
Did he create the game?​

 

[TekSoda]

You wonder if the study had a paperclip you could've stolen, but that room wanted you dead. There's probably an actual lockpick in your apartment, but you're not even sure where that is relative to here, given the stairs decided that you weren't going home ever again. Finally, in frustration, you kick open the door that upstairs would've lead to the study.

You actually managed to successfully kick open a door for once. Good job.​

 

[Blemmigan]

==> Equip your new Molder Hat.​

You pretend for five seconds that you have such a thing as dignity, before remembering who you are. The smell of forgotten coffee mugs wafts over you.

==> Attempt to arm yourself properly.​

You figure that, if you have a good weapon, you can go out and get the torch. And then use the torch to... well, illuminate things. Or use it to make something. But you might need to collect more points first.

One step at a time. You attempt to stop the book when it gets to the pool cue + knives combo, a little wary of the way it magically turns pages for you. The whole book is undoubtedly magic, but that's beside the point.

Okay. Right page dominant. Try and get this right first time for once. You've got this. Eye of the tiger.

Pool cue <-- Knives

 

[Orikanyo]

EM: So, anybody else play silent Hill? Probably got a puzzel key.
EM: Legit got a painting of an old man with a damned fuckung lantern.
EM: Got a damn hermit card painting and i'm gonna be hunted by the ghost of christmas future.

 

[Squad141]

Passing by the disgusting bathroom, you shut the door behind you as you exit this room.
Looking up, you read the number of the room.

201.
Hm...

You begin to walk across the hall, when you suddenly stop.
The hallway light flickers, then abruptly goes out.

Only for a second, though.
When they turn back on, you can the shadow of something coming into your line of sight and into the hall.

Thinking fast, you jump into the room in front of you, 202, and crack the door, listening.
You hear footsteps, the swinging of something rusty, then a slight hesitate, and the sound of a door close by closing.

Looking back out the hallway, you realize that one of the six other doors in the hallway contains some kind of creature.
Orikanyo
------------------------------------------------------------------------
​

PUEN: Ah, yes.
PUEN: I forgot how much the real version of you really knew.
PUEN: And to think, I used to tell you the most...
PUEN: ...
PUEN: Think of it like this.
PUEN: The trunk of a tree is where the tree grows, where it starts and where it ends.
PUEN: When it begins to grow, it grows branches, separate but similar versions to itself, but smaller.
PUEN: Your hellish landscape, as well as your friends', they are all of these branches.
PUEN: And my research?
PUEN: Simply investigating the places themselves.
PUEN: Before you were taken to this realm, these branches were locked to my team.
PUEN: Now, we must gather all info possible before the next turn.

Kimona
-----------------------------------

You enter the room like a badass.

It appears to be some kind of somewhat-nice sitting room.
Two chairs face an empty fire place with magnificent mantle set piece.

A few paintings line the walls, along with some empty bookshelves.
The color scheme reminds you of a mashup between the study and the kitchen.
TekSoda
-------------------------------------------------

You create the Felt-Bladed Knife.
The handle appears to be of a polished wood, which makes it easier to handle.
The blade itself is covered in a thin layer of green felt, though its still as sharp as ever.
Blemmigan ​

 

[Orikanyo]

EM: Okay, with all things said, I hate when I'm right.
EM: Why can't I be right about things that are pleasant?
EM: Next thing I find will be wholly pleasant and useful to my predicament and will in no way will be terrifying.

You gaze down at the painting you still have grazed in your, admit-ably now sweaty due to fear, hands.
Okay, you saw a light, then you didn't see a light, it's a guardian of 2,3,4? Maybe? maybe the light was the lantern?
Maybe hes a friendly fellow who wont try to eat your face like a rampant horrific terror from beyond space and time.

...it also occurs to you you HAVEN'T actually looked into the room you are currently in...

...best do so while whatever it is isn't here at this current state of time...

==> Search the room, and be quick about it.

Oh god please don't be full of death.​

 

[Kimona]

You nod, listening.
You think you get it.
Aside from the ominous stuff at the beginning, which you will com back to later, you think you get the idea.
"I see..."
You trail off in a mumble, thinking about it.
"So what are those weeping angel things?"
You ask, figuring it would be best to get as much info as possible, especially about monsters.
"Also why that one room filled with so many piled of red paper?"
You add. That one you were just curious about. All that red and white paper.
It seemed silly.​

 

[Blemmigan]

BV: well, if it helps, you were right about the alchemy.
BV: i made that weird fuzzy knife to accompany my weird fuzzy hat.
BV: not that i made a pointless hat.
BV: crap.
BV: i could use your previous alchemy pages, that's all i meant to say.

==> Retrieve the torch.​

Or the flashlight, whatever you call it. Your exact country of origin remains a mystery. The bottom line is, you need to start finding lore and moving on in your yourquest quest. Maybe you can keep an eye out for things you can use to alchemise more helpful items.

You pick up the Captain, who had wandered dangerously close to the silver plate, and head downstairs again. Mascot under one arm, felt-bladed knife in the other, you're ready for anything.

You reconsider, and set Captain Nemo down in the hallway. You tell him to be safe and wait there. He bubbles a mouthful of foam in response, which is as close to an agreement as you think you'll get, and you give him a pat on the shell. Good crab.

Opening the door, you can't see much through the rain, glittering in the light shining from your house, but you step through before you can chicken out. The torch is probably somewhere near the water. Just a few more steps. Just keep going.

Is that it? You fumble around, your fingers sinking into the wet sand, until by sheer luck you find the flashlight in the rolling waves of the shallows. Did it roll down the beach? Or... is the tide coming in?

 

[Orikanyo]

EM: Oh, thats actually good news! At least you all can sample my bumbling around while I get shown my future christmas related death.
EM: I love christmas.
EM: but fuck if it is coming early this year.

 

[Squad141]

As you expect, its the same type of hotel room, except the bathroom is unlocked and smelling like a motel bathroom.
Oh, and the other thing.

A wide pedestal of stone sits at the foot of the bed, also holding feet.
However, these feet seem to have been the only survivors of some kind incident, as they are cracked and the rest of the rest of the statue is nowhere to be found.

Bits of stone splatter the walls of the room, though they seem to have solidified.
Orikanyo
----------------------------------
​

PUEN: Those were agents of our opponent.
PUEN: The 'enemy' of the game, if we are to go by your jargon.
PUEN: And that red room?
PUEN: Simple.
PUEN: I've allocated various rooms in the towers lower section to studying your branches.
PUEN: That one must be from one of your friends, otherwise my helpers would not have created it as such.
PUEN: Do you know anyone with a particular interest in that color?

Kimona
---------------------------------------------------

You hold the light steady against the steady waves.
Nothing except the water itself barely moves.

You look father into the sandbar...

There.
A large lump still exists from where you fell on your ass last time, and where you found Nemo.

The water is about two feet in front of it now.
Blemmigan ​

 

[Kimona]

Ryuu: Do you know anyone in red?==>

You.... Don't recall?
"I don't think I've seen anyone in the group chat who types in red if that's what you mean?"
You don't know the names of any of your friends,
Were they one of the ones who disappeared?
Or just the AFK one
Thinking about disappearing..
Should you ask?

You glance at RG to see what she thought. Being the same person you were sure she was thinking it too.​

 

[Orikanyo]

DICK: Well, guess you hit,
DICK: Rock bottom.

Yyyyyyyyeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!*Que CSI Miami Theme*

Okay but no thats horrible.

Dude got turned to stone and likely crumbled due to the damn spiders, which you hope theres no more of. Which is unlikely due to the sheer fuckery going on, you need to alchemize some object to stop petrification... Or heal it? Can it really be healed?

Magic? Maybe magic.

What was that saying? Only magic can defeat magic?

Nonetheless as the resident white mage and apparently priest of destruction you'll find a way.

...Check the place out.

==> Check drawers, bathroom, whatever in the room that stands out​

 

[Squad141]

RG seems to be thinking extremely hard...
Maybe your forgetting something?

As you ponder this, you realize that Puen seems to be waiting for you to do something.
...
Should you...ask him something?
Go somewhere?
Kimona
----------------------------------------

As you examine the desk that resembles the one from 201, you reach the same drawer as last time.

In it is another note like the one from the pub.

'The infestation has grown. I've found parts of the owners daughters diary and can use these to call for help. Dear god... I can hear things outside. The only thing keeping me company is this statue man in the room with me. Though, it's a bit weird that he doesn't have a head. The figure itself radiates some kind of energy...Though I don't really know how to tap into it. I'm gonna try and go find the head.'

Orikanyo ​

 

[Kimona]

Ugh.
No help again.
You look at Puen

You might not have a chance to ask later.....
But should you?
It seems like the kind of 80's twist where he reveals "I am your father."
Except he stabs you in the back and stores you in with the other dead bodies of people who you-know-you-know-but-can't-remember-their-names.

You look back at Puen.
You were questioning yourself.
You hold up a finger.
You would like to inform your adjoining players of your info before you possibly get turned into a corpse.
​

RG: Hey dudes.
RG: sry iv'e been mia
RG: So I'm going to quickly sum up everthing i've learned for ya' guys.
RG: So as i'm sure ya noticed, when we pass out we wake up elsewhere.
RG: We have 2 bodies, a waking and a sleeping one.
RG: We each have a branch so to speak that I believe might be unique to us?

You were just guessing on that one, but from what you heard and what Puen told you, it adds up.​

RG: Also 2 more things.
RG: did any of your friends before I joined type in RED?
RG: And I think I met the

You accidentally sent the message to soon.
Maybe it's for the best.
It doesn't matter yet.

You pocket the mobile device.
You attention returning to Puen.

"I have a question."

You start to ask.

"What's up with the bodies?"​

 

[Orikanyo]

EM: Red? Adia types in red.
EM: But we got legitimately two bodies?
EM: So the world I saw when sleeping was one that was real?
EM: Color me jealous, I want to be in a damn mansion.

You gaze up what is left of the statue, you cannot tell whats worse, imaging they comepleted the statue which then exploded or the bugs got to him...

Nonetheless, you pocket the note.

==> Check washroom​

 

[TekSoda]

This room is a lot less immediately unsettling, but you feel that's almost worse. Of the last two nice looking rooms you've been in, one contained a weeping angel and the other a death trap.

Regardless, there's not really anywhere else you care to go.

==> Inspect Paintings​

 

[Blemmigan]

==> Finally solve the mystery​

You gear yourself up, ready to encounter slimy, stinking fishpeople rising from the sand and sea at any moment. With the torch held in front of you, alongside the knife, you feel like you're on some kind of TV crime drama. Except those people usually have guns. But if anything tries to run into you head-on, they'll be at least mildly inconvenienced by a stabbing.

There's the thing in the water, and if it's the same one as before, the tide's definitely coming in. But there's still something there, which Morlock seemed to think was important. Maybe this is where you find the Promised Lore.

You're standing in dark water before you even see it, and the sound of your feet splashing is loud against the white noise of rain and wave. But it's too late to go back now, and you squelch forward gingerly, light focused on the lump blurred by refraction.

Well, it can't be alive, because it's been lying underwater all this time. Unless it's a fish monster, waiting for you to get close enough to touch...

You're almost close enough.

==> Panic and give the thing a stab.​

Just a little inquisitive one.

 

[Squad141]

Puen, finally having reached the door to the study, presumably his, turns back as he turns the knob.​

PUEN: Oh yes...
PUEN: I presume you recognize some of them?

He opens the door and gestures inside.​

PUEN: This is a bit of a heavy subject...
PUEN: Why don't you come have a seat?

He steps inside, minding his mask as he begins to fiddle with the equipment around the room.
Kimona
---------------------------------------

You reach into the washroom, surprise to find a lightswitch.
You turn it.
A dim light blinks on.

You fars drastically calm themselves when your quick check of the room reveals nothing trying to kill you.

You sigh, and beginning looking around.

The small room is surprisingly clean, but as clean as a motel restroom could be.
You inspect the mirror, the sink, the shower.
Nothing much.

Then you turn and open the toilet.
You almost scream before realizing what your looking at.

A stone...elbow? Knee? looks back a you, having been what you can only describe as shoved into the toilet.
Orikanyo
-------------------------------------------------------------

The paintings are illuminated with the floor lamps light, giving a very moody atmosphere to them all.
There are about five pictures in the room.

The first on your far left, is that of what appears to be of a rainy day in a brick room.
The two subjects of the portrait are a boy and a girl, both of similar looking age.
The girls eyes are yellow, which matches her blonde hair.
The boys hair is black, which compliments his light blue eyes.
They both appear to be wearing some kind of workers garb, complete with gloves and everything.

Something about is off to you though.
Maybe its their position in the the picture.
The two children sit on the wall of the dungeon, looking sadly at their beholder.
Or maybe its the way their eyes, so vibrant with color, also appear to be empty, like all the happiness has left them.

The portrait to the right of this one is much different.
It depicts that of a boy sitting on a throne in in the middle of some sandy area.
His his hair is black, and he himself seems intimidating in a sense.
His eyes are gray, though they portray that of ambition and a goal.
He wears a gray suit, which is overwhelmingly formal for his wooden chair, etched with several insect-like drawings.
Upon his eye-patched head lies a simplistic white crown encrusted silver, which matches with the marble and silver scepter he holds in his left hand.

Switching to the other side of the room, to the portrait on the far right.
This one has a much darker tone to it.
The background now depicts that of a lake that appears to never end, with the subject standing on the water.
Its another boy, his hair also black, but his eyes a dull blue.
He holds two bloody swords, which also litter the ground around him.
A rope is tied around his neck, but it trails off past your point of view.

The picture to the left of that is much more emotional to you.
The background, instead of being some tranquil place, is that of fire, brimstone and ash.
The girl on the front has some cool colors going on, but her sad face negates her vibrant hair and wardrobe.
She is kneeling, holding only some kind of emerald disk with a depiction of the sun on it.

Finally, you look at the fifth picture, the one handing above the mantle-

You stop.

The subject of the portrait, is you.
The background is that of a labyrinth of rooms and stairs, similar to your surroundings currently.
Your face reflects the others in the room, of that being the expression of tranquility, but sorrow.
You sit in a kind of velvet footstool, your hands in front of you.
They hold a horned mug, made of what you think is Ruby.
TekSoda
-------------------------

The knife rebounds with a metallic clang.
Reaching down with uncertainty, you pull up some kind of tank.
The only label on it reads 'Air'.

This is where that fish thing died, wasn't it?
Blemmigan ​

 

[Orikanyo]

==> take the stone limb

What no

==> Do it

thats gross.

==> Do it or no balls.

Crude but... well... Fine...
Plucking the ankle out, after covering your hand with toilet paper, you begin to move back towards the room with the statute area.
Game logic dictates this to be a puzzle, and you have to find the pieces of the person as the guy in the note stated...
At leats before he.. may have been turned to stone...
And exploded...ed...
Well, nothing left for it, what else do you have to do? Plus this could get you some sick ass loot or a follower.
Having somebody else to fight alongside you would be crazy cool, especially a stone dude.. but it may also be one of those puzzles where you CREATE your own boss fight.
So who knows, why not figure out what the hell is going on.

==> try to affix the stone elbow/knee to the feet.

Also should check around the place if theres any small piece around of the statute...
...But that may take time you don't have... the Guardian lurks... A thought that makes you raise your cane to the door.
Death before dishonor, you say, planning your escape route.
​

 

[Kimona]

You nod in response to Puen.
You follow him into the room, and takes a seat when offered.
You take a look around the room, checking out the equipment.
You wonder what it all was and what it did.​

 

[Blemmigan]

==> Inspect the air tank​

Okay, probably not lore, but the hamster running the wheel that powers your brain is working overtime. You're starting to realise that the way off this shrinking island might not be via boat.

Was this here the whole time? Or is this some kind of... loot drop, a reward for killing that fish thing? That is, if you even killed it. You're still not sure. That's what you get for running away.

==> Take the tank back inside​

It's heavier than you expected, but not too heavy to carry. Better move it before the sea floor shifts and buries it completely.

 

[Squad141]

You hold the ankle knee thing to the right foot.
A red light appears, and you feel a slight push as it gets rejected.

You put it on the left foot.
A white light appears, and it flies onto the cracks, mending itself.

A music cue announces your success.
Orikanyo​

 

[Orikanyo]

Dick: ...Half expected a blood sacrifice here game.

You sassily tell the void,
the void gets abit of a hearty chuckle,
like an old friend who just got told a in joke.

Yous till have to collect the rest of the piece,
you are slightly thankful nothing has mentioned your inventory system yet
or made shenanigans in regards to it.

Like jetisoning a object out a window into the sands while trying to pick up something

But that would be silly.

And this is no time for silliness.

==> head out to the Hallway, cane first.

You peak out, looking for your friend who entered a room earlier. chances are they are a hostile just waiting to be procted, can there really be friends in this game?

...Did you really call the others whom youhold so tightly to your chest with your other hand friends?

How much did they really know you?

Do they respect you at all?

...

Questions for another time.. Anxiety will not conquer you this day, even if it has already.. .

Deep breaths... Don't become overwhelmed...

One thing at a time... Find puzzle pieces, get sick reward, avoid guardian.​

 

[TekSoda]

On one hand, it's a beautiful portrait, so you sort of want to steal this painting. And if the study was any indication of the state the room will be in after you start puzzling, you kind of want to take it and move out of the room with it before shit hits the fan.

On the other hand, that's a creepy mysterious painting starring someone who just got here, and its probably booby trapped. Also, the multiple other paintings indicate some sort of puzzle. You should be certain about the rest of the room before doing anything rash.

For now, you take a picture and send it to the group chat.
​

SJ: check this out
SJ: creepy right

You then move to inspect the rest of the room, to see if there's anything else of note.​

 

[Squad141]

PUEN: So.
PUEN: By now, you've probably figured out that you and your friends on your own.
PUEN: So, to the topic at hand.
PUEN: The corpses of the children in the dungeon.
PUEN: FIrst, note that I had nothing to do with them getting there.
PUEN: Those are others Players, failed, I guess you could called them.
PUEN: You are not the first to reside in the spire.
PUEN: However, you are the first to awake without expiring in your sleep.
PUEN: I only now of another who is still with us.
PUEN: When the Player 'fails', the Tower moves them down here to make space for the others, like yourself.
PUEN: Any questions?

Kimona
----------------------------

After setting the tank back down inside, you hear another noise.
You listen closely, watching your puppet ghost pal float silently towards the door.

Through the noise of the water, you hear something.
And not just a small, fish-man thing.

A moan of some eldritch creature rocks your soul as you hear from the depths below.

Then a bang on your door awakens you from your thoughts.
Another creature is here for you.
Blemmigan
-------------------------------------

You begin to examine the room.

There appear to be quite a few carvings decorating the marble fireplace which remains unlit.
These include things from gargoyles, to cherubs, to chain link curtains. Its all really edgy to you.

The velvet sitting chairs themselves seem quite nice.
They appear to be somewhat old, but antiques. They've been used at most.
You sit in one for a quick test.
Yep. Its a chair.

Two small bookshelves, thankfully not holding books, line the walls beside you.
They hold maps of the stars, especially our solar system and the constellations.
Speaking of outer space, you begin to actually look at the wallpaper for once. It looks pretty od, something a grandma would have in her kitchen.
It depicts angels and clouds, as well as the occasional planet encircled with some kind of shape.

In the center of the two chairs, lies a small table.
In the middle sits a medium-size vase with some water lilies in it, as well as some water.

Standing beside the cold fireplace, you notice something much more intimidating.
A full set of armor stands, holding a blue-hilted sword towards the ground.

About to leave, you turn around, and the door slams shut.
Looks like this is the second challenge...

But what could start the chain of events?
TekSoda ​