hauntstart | AN OPENING

[ When you died, you, amongst the many dead set adrift in the depths of unbecoming, were chosen by the world. You were caressed, stood back up, and death was brushed from your shoulders as they straightened your body back into a shape presentable enough to be a person again. Grave dirt sloughed from you. Your lungs and heart stretched, yawned, and opened to a pale dawn. You came back whole. Three gifts from the world that loves you were pressed into your hands.

Maybe Violence's wet and ruddy hands took yours in hers with a firm grip.
Maybe Hierarchy's gloved hands took yours in his with expectation behind that grasp.
Maybe The Audience's many hands swarmed up your hands and wrist, and shook with star-struck enthusiasm.
Maybe Charade's hands, bejeweled with costume jewelry, took yours and pressed a kiss to the back of your palm.
Maybe Challenge's rough calloused hands pumped your hand, grip tight and demanding answer.
Maybe Lore's hands, charged with unknown power, touched yours and a spark sizzled between you both.
Maybe Pain's taloned claws dug in, small pinpricks of pain welling up where skin came near to breaking.
Maybe Love's warm palms and gentle fingers entwined together with yours.
Maybe Portents's hands with nails freshly inked traced a runed pattern against the back of your hands.
Maybe Devils' hands, radiant with heat and promise, caressed yours with a giggle or pinched.
Maybe Architecture's hands in elegant angles shook yours in the precise motions of a promise sealed.
Maybe Death's phalanges and metacarpals locked about your hand and, for a moment, seemed they would never let go.
Maybe Life's verdant and furred hands met yours briefly, in an energetic clap of camaraderie.
Maybe Impulse's electric mechanisms whirred in an exploratory imitation of a greeting.
Maybe Controversy's hands held to yours fast, tugging you in opposite directions as they reluctantly parted.
Maybe The Bizarre's hands spiraled up about you and, with the cold impression of mist, vanished before you could return the clasp.
Maybe Miracle's gold and shining hands took yours in a shake of perfect agreement.
Maybe Prey's frantic and small hands pumped yours in an eager and nimble greeting, gone before you had a chance to react.
Maybe The Hunter's heavy strength enveloped your palm in their planned and patient grasp.
Maybe Corruption's scales slid up past your hand, wrist, and arm, up to your cheek, where she patted you with gentle sympathy.

But three made contact, gave gifts, and the last one had one more offering to leave with you. Lastly, the world has given you a train ticket. Departure: any time. Destination: elsewhere. You just need to find the platform.

You awaken in a world that loves few things. A world that even death picks over the offerings, taking few cleanly and completely, leaving old hurts pile up in the hinterlands outside the cities, where locals take refuge from ghosts and comfort and distraction in each other. Things go wrong here, frequently. Things go weird here, frequently. Reality is thin, as many parts of reality have better things to do than hang around here all day. Because you are loved, maybe things will go better for you while you are here.

You awaken, more specifically, in a part of the world called Lockscentre. This is a part of the world that is a city. You don't need to guess or be told either of these things, as you wake up in the clearly labeled LOCKSCENTRE STRANGER CEMETARY.

Or, well, it says that clearly when you climb out of your coffin.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ ..........................can he pry the coffin open. ]

[ It's the coffin you woke up in! so it's already open. ]

[ OOPS ok. is there anything else in it. under it, even. does it have a brand name on it from who made it. ]

[ The primary thing of interest is the big upside down castle inside the circular crest on it. Underneath it is a dias, which has three small steps to get up to it, but that's about it. ]

No brand name though. Maybe they don't do brand name coffins here ]

[ At least it's not an Alchemax thing. Not like gothic coffins are their thing, but maybe Tyler was feeling dramatic? Either way, this is... new. ]

Ooookay.

[ Going to the steps now. Can he walk up?]

[ it depends. he can walk up the dias steps to the coffin, but the other steps— the stairway out— are behind the big ornate gate. He'll need to figure out how to open the gate first. ]

[ Now it's starting to click. It's time to check the gate, just for confirmation—trying to push it open, looking for a lock to break. ]

[ the gate clangs, locked in place. Though there isn't an obvious lock, so it seems like he'll have to do something else in the room to get it to open. ]

[ muttering: ]

Of course it's not going to be easy.

[ ........ he's never seen Indiana Jones. His assistant's assistant always told him to. Why didn't he ever watch it?

Can he pick up the sword carving? ]

[ nope! It seems like it can be pushed clockwise or anti-clockwise but cannot (currently) be picked up.

the castle stone and the leaf stone similarly seem to be loose ]

Who would even design this.

[ moves them all one spot clockwise. ]

[ What do you mean by one spot? Like on a clock one spot, 90 degrees one spot, upside down one spot, or a full rotation around? ]

Edited 2025-07-14 19:48 (UTC)

[ like moving sword to where castle is, castle to where leaf is, leaf to where sword was was my thought. ]

[ The castle and sword do not lift up. they're three separate paving stones.

But the leaf does! It reveals A Weird Alphabet? ]

...huh.

[ Idly, he's taking stock of what his name might look like in this alphabet.

is there anywhere in this little area that might have writing in this language on it? he's just glancing around, not deep looking yet. ]

[ all eight of the columns have some of the writing on it, with carved vines encircling them. ]

[ The nearest column, he's going to try and translate it. (If you need a specific one, maybe the one to the left of where the carvings are. ]

To the left it reads:

[ "and lift." ]

[ ...this is going to take awhile, but he's going to read them one by one, starting with that one and going counter-clockwise. ]

[ They read, counter clock-wise:

Left most: And lift
Second left most: Twist twice
Third from the left: rotate 3 times
Fourth from the left: upside-down
Fourth from the right: sideways
third from the right: the leaf
second from the right: the castle
first from the right: the sword ]

Good thing I'm a super genius with a degree in biology.

[ dry.

this clearly isn't the way to read it, but it does seem to be instructions...

he rotates the leaf three times to see what happens. ]

[ The leaf rotates three times!

nothing happens though.

It seems like you're missing a clue. Maybe something else in the room indicates how to move the the stones. ]

[ ... turns the castle upside down. ]

[ Miguel rotates the castle so it is upside-down! Once it's in position, a light shines on the coffin which creates shadows like a clock.

The short and thick line points to the one o'clock position.
The long line points directly down, to the six o'clock position.
The short and thin line points to the eight o'clock position. ]

[ yelling up where the light came from. ]

Why don't you just stop wasting our time and let me out?

Re: FOR MIGUEL

angelcage - 2025-07-14 22:25 (UTC) - Expand