Betrayal at House on the Hill

[angelcage]

[ You sleep, the ground cold beneath your cheek. The ground is hard as stone, cold marble beneath a fine layer of dust that doesn't come anywhere near acting as a cushion. The dust stirs with your breathing.


>> Wake up ]

Comments

ENTRANCE HALL - GROUND LEVEL

[angelcage]

[ When your eyes are opened, you will find you're not alone. There are others here- eight others. Some of you have been handcuffed together-- the metal inscribed with strange glyphs that hurt to look at directly. ]


[You've awakened in an unfamiliar place-- the floor of a Grand Entrance Hall. Or a formerly grand one, the tears in the silk wallpaper, the marble much abused. There's three headless statues, shattered pieces of what must have once been their heads in sharp white shards dashed across the floor. There's one final pedestal, probably meant for a fourth statue. But upon that stand is instead a note, sealed with an unfamiliar wax seal, the pattern of iron gates pressed into it.


Further down the hall a red carpet lolls like a tongue down a grand staircase. On the left side of the hall, there are two doors: mirrored across on the right side, there are two more. ]

[dendarii]

[ Here's a unique looking fellow. Miles Vorkosigan is a frail little slip of a man, maybe 4'9" at most and rather gaunt. And, like most people here, he looks completely bewildered. Is he dreaming? Surely this must be a dream, because the last thing he remembers is ...

Wait. Is he handcuffed right now? ]

What the hell is going on here?

Re: ENTRANCE HALL - GROUND LEVEL

[runawaystory]

[Among the group -- not handcuffed -- is a woman in her twenties, dressed in a smart skirt suit right out of the 1930s. Her hands are hidden by a pair of gloves. The smartness of her clothes is somewhat marred by the dust and dirt and, you know, sleeping on a beat-up marble floor.

She wakes up, and promptly sneezes. Loudly. Dust, it's a thing.

And then she looks around.]

...Um. Um.

[runawaystory]

[a woman nicely dressed in clothes straight out of the 1930s, though now a bit marred by dust and sleeping on the floor]

That's what I'd like to know too.

[dendarii]

[ Miles rubs at his own face, which is also a bit dirty. ]

The question of the hour. What's the last thing you remember?

Re: ENTRANCE HALL - GROUND LEVEL

[withintreason]

[ this person -- short, but the rest of their features are hidden away in their full body armor. there's a handcuff attaching them to someone. who the fuck ]

Hah?

[ even their voice is distorted by the armor, enough that you can't tell any distinctive features from them -- woman or man, young or old. all you can tell is -- they're pretty angry. ]

What the hell is this shit?

[court_chesster]

[As if this place wasn't spooky enough, there's a clown in here, complete with a pink-and-purple striped costume, one of those neck poof things, and full face makeup. Though to be fair, he looks just as confused and alarmed as anybody else.]

Is this some kind of joke?

[runawaystory]

Um...

[her hand darts to the back of her head, then slowly pulls it away. she seems surprised to find it dry and unmarked.]

Getting conked on the head. But...

[she waggles her clean fingers at him]

[dendarii]

... No blood. Huh. This is all very strange.

[court_chesster]

...Is it Halloween already?

[Says the man in a clown costume.]

[runawaystory]

What about you?

[withintreason]

[ handcuffed, apparently, to this person. you can't tell who the fuck they are though, in terms of features -- man, woman, young, old. they're just, relatively short, but i mean in comparison to you they're not short at all. 5'1", to be precise. ]

That's my question.

[ by the by, they. have a sword! nice. ]

[runawaystory]

[adding to the costume party, here's a woman dressed like she stepped out of the 1930s.]

Not a good one, if so.

[dendarii]

[ Still taller than Miles, and in armor to boot. Miles still feels uniquely loomed over. And/or threatened. He has a small dagger strapped to his belt, but it's awkward to retrieve. ]

Yes, well. We share it then. As well as our handcuffs.

[ He gestures with that hand. ]

[dendarii]

[ Miles furrows his brows a bit, trying to think. ]

I think I'd gone to bed.

[withintreason]

[ turns to him -- you can only tell that they do that because the armor clinks and they're physically turning to see you. ]

If you're any indication, sure.

[dendarii]

[ Clowns, really. Miles raises an eyebrow. ]

I hope not. It's rather elaborate if so.

[dishonestliving]

[A redhead dressed in sateen formalwear and paste jewelry rustles herself upright, looking around blearily. Though once she blinks away some of the confusion, she lets out an exasperated huff.]

If I had a dollar for every time I woke up on the floor of some once-great hall, I'd be able to afford a once-great hall of my own...

Alright, what's going on, which one of you got us into this mess?

[runawaystory]

So it's, what, mass kidnapping? Great. My favorite way to wake up.

[court_chesster]

[Cocks his head to the side slightly, but not commenting on that.]

I think somebody whacked me upside the head...

1/2

[runawaystory]

Don't look at me.

[she answers automatically...]

[dishonestliving]

Did you forget to pay back your debts? They don't like it when you don't pay back your debts.

2/2

[runawaystory]

[...and then her memory catches up to her ears, and--]

Wait.

Ivy???

[dendarii]

It is, sadly, not the first time it's happened to me. But this setting is vastly different.

[runawaystory]

Same. No blood?