[RAVEN'S HEART GAME - SESSION THREE]

[selfpreservationist]

The first thing you hear is the sound of rain faintly hitting the exterior of the house. The soft pitter-patter is almost soothing, in a way, but it’s quickly followed up by rumbling thunder in the distance. You open your eyes, and for a second all you see is a flash of light--at first it seems like it’s lightning, but then you see something. A vision of a man dressed in rags, hunched over, waves of demonic power rolling over him. He howls, and something terrible starts to grow out of him: the bloody roots of a massive tree. An immense wave of panic hits you, and you can’t move, you can’t speak, you can’t breathe--

And then it’s over. It’s over. You’re fine.

The sound of rain returns. (This time it’s definitely soothing, compared to what you just saw.) You’re standing in the foyer of a mansion, a wide open living room in front of you. The door behind you is faintly ajar, leading outside.

[Powers are OFF. Make sure you’ve joined the discord channel! If you need to, you can ping me directly at haeralis#8694. Sign-ups are here.]

Comments

THE LIVING ROOM

[idolpro]

The receiving room is large, with high ceilings and high windows. Most of the light comes from outside, but because it’s overcast, everything is very dim. This was probably once a very luxurious home, but it’s clearly fallen upon hard times. All the furniture is smashed and derelict, tables splintered and chairs broken. The rug on the floor is faded with age and dust and… what look like dark, rusty stains. The stains continue all over the wooden floor, some old and some much more recent.

The most recent stain is easily identifiable: a severed demonic arm (visual) lies in the middle of the floor, congealed blood gathered around it.

Hanging above the fireplace is a large portrait that’s been heavily damaged, but you can still make out the figures it originally depicted. It’s a family of four; a mother, a father, and two twin boys. Their faces have all been smeared and ripped away, but you can still make out the mother’s long, blonde hair, and the short silvery white strands on the children.

Instead of a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, there are three crossed swords: one large, one thin, and one you could feasibly rev like a motorcycle. They appear somewhat unbalanced, like the weight isn’t properly distributed in order to keep them hanging properly. Something is definitely missing from this sword-chandelier. Swordelier?

From here, you can go outside, upstairs, or into the cellar.

Re: THE LIVING ROOM

[softlyfalling]

[ ummmmmm

well. that's... that's a tableau.

also isn't that her husband's arm. ]

[failedsafe]

Well.

This is is a thing.

[Let's head to the cellar, first.]

Re: THE LIVING ROOM

[rollplayinghouse]

...

[just in shock for a moment, and then she ends up staring up at the sword-chandelier]

I'm not sure that looks safe...

Re: THE LIVING ROOM

[softlyfalling]

[ All right, she's back in the living room. Is it possible to get up to the chandelier? Because she's pretty sure the sword cane should be up there. ]

OUTSIDE

[idolpro]

Strangely, it isn’t raining once you step outside; it’s just overcast.

Past the cobblestone steps that lead up to the mansion is a small patch of green. Once upon a time there was a playground here, but the structures have been smashed and bent; the ones that haven’t are heavily rusted over. The only thing that’s semi-intact is an old seesaw that creaks loudly in the wind.

You’re not alone here: sitting on one end of the seesaw is a boy, about eight years old, with white hair and a dour expression. He’s wearing an amulet around his neck.

You can go back into the living room from here.

Re: OUTSIDE

[rollplayinghouse]

...Ah.

[approaching the boy]

Vergil...?

UPSTAIRS

[idolpro]

You walk up the stairs, which creak ominously under your feet, but don’t give way. There’s a corridor ahead of you, leading to several more doors, none of which match one another.

Door one is a set of lacquered wooden double-doors that wouldn’t look out of place in any fancy pants mansion, except these are clean and shiny.

Door two is painted pitch-black, with window panes that show a vast swirling constellation of stars.

Door three is sheer white with white curtains hanging from the window panes.

Re: UPSTAIRS

[rollplayinghouse]

[Her gaze lingers on door two, but ultimately she opens the first one]

[failedsafe]

Let's tryyyy door number Two!

[it speaks to her]

Re: UPSTAIRS

[softlyfalling]

[ hmmmm

does anything look like it might have gone "click" up here... ]

THE CELLAR

[idolpro]

It’s a little hard to find the cellar at first; there’s a door that leads to what was probably once a kitchen, but has been violently smashed to bits. One wall is covered in half-finished bricks, empty wine bottles scattered about the floor. There are words painted in bloody red ink on the wall, dripping in places as though it were just recently painted. The words read:

“Lo, a shadow of horror is risen
In Eternity! Unknown, unprolific!
Self-clos'd, all-repelling: what Demon
Hath form'd this abominable void
This soul-shudd'ring vacuum?—Some said
“It is Urizen”, But unknown, abstracted
Brooding secret, the dark power hid.”

In the middle of the checkered tile floor is a trapdoor. There doesn’t appear to be any lock on it, or a knocker. There is only the imprint of a hand, one with sharp pointed nails.

You can go back into the living room from here.

[failedsafe]

[oh. okay yeah leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet's go back to the living room from here!!!]

Re: THE CELLAR

[softlyfalling]

...ah, I see.

[ she reads the snippet of poetry to herself, head tilted to the side thoughtfully.

...and also touches the ink to see if it's like. blood or ink or paint or what. just curious. ]

Re: THE CELLAR

[softlyfalling]

Aaaaaand out of this gross place.

Re: THE CELLAR

[rollplayinghouse]

[Rather than go for the trap door immediately, Glory spends some time looking at the wall, and then tests to see if she can dislodge any bricks.]

DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

[idolpro]

You remember that scene in Beauty the Beast (1991) where the Beast shows Belle the library for the first time and it’s vast and beautiful and everything she’s ever dreamed of? Yeah. This is that library.

This room is humongous. It would easily fill the size of the rest of the house, if dimensional geometry mattered even a little bit. (It does not.) Bookshelves two, three stories high fill the walls, with rows upon rows of books. There are plush velvet sofas in deep, rich burgundy scattered throughout, with lamps on side tables to provide cozy, quiet reading spaces. The sound of rain from this room feels much gentler, compared to the rest of the house.

Further in, you’ll find a reading nook nestled cozily in a corner, with numerous pillows and a soft fleece blanket. On the side table is a lamp for reading, along with a large mug of what looks like a coffee frappuccino monstrosity, with whipped cream and candy and edible glitter and a big straw. It looks amazing, if you’re into that.

The nook itself is occupied… by Raven, who is currently in a deep sleep, curled up under the blanket. His hair is white, as are all of his clothes--soft linen, simple but comfortable.

You can leave this room and go back to the upstairs corridor.

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

[rollplayinghouse]

[She walks in a few steps, looking around at everything—until she sees who's there.]

Ah, Raven!

[She heads over to him quickly.]

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

[softlyfalling]

...

[ she wants to touch the books, thanks ]

[failedsafe]

[LISTEN.

HE KNOWS HOW SHE MAKES HER DRINKS. THAT LOOKS AWESOME.]

Rave?

[just going to hurry over, but quietly.]

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

[rollplayinghouse]

[Glory is here again, to look for specifically Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake.


She said she'd try be quick but she's realizing she has no way to guarantee that as she has no idea where to find this book. But, well. She believes in herself.]

DOOR TWO - ★ZRAEL

[idolpro]

You open the door into a large room with tiled floors and high-ceilinged walls. The walls are painted a deep starry black with constellation-like patterns that move slowly about. Occasionally, a shooting star will fly across the patterns on the walls. It’s dim, but pleasantly so; star-shaped lanterns float about, giving everything a warm, cozy glow. The tiles light up when you step on them, too.

Despite the lighting, this is ostensibly the bathroom, though it looks a bit like an old-fashioned boudoir, too. There is a gorgeous claw-footed bathtub in here, filled with dark, glittering water like someone dropped a galactic bath bomb in it. There’s a tall vanity mirror, a large shag rug, and a beanbag chair for relaxing in.

On every wall are a series of collages; framed photos, papers, and trinkets focusing on a particular individual. There are nine in total. There’s also a hole in the wall by one of the collages.

You can leave this room and go back to the upstairs corridor.

[failedsafe]

[Let's examine that hole in the wall.]

Snazzy.

DOOR THREE - THE BEDROOM

[idolpro]

Unlike most other rooms in the mansion, this one is brightly lit, sun shining through the windows as though the rain isn’t present at all. This room looks like someone’s bedroom; there’s a soft bed with black sheets and pillows, a small bookshelf with several leather-bound books that appear to be diaries, an open wardrobe, and a framed photograph on the wall. There is a wooden chest at the foot of the bed with an epigraph on it.

It feels peaceful in here… calming, even. Like you could curl up and take a nap, if you wanted to.

You can leave this room and go back to the upstairs corridor.

[failedsafe]

Must...resist...naptime.

[Let's look at the photo on the wall.]

THE QLIPHOTH

[idolpro]

You don’t know how long you’ve been walking, but the further you go, the more it feels like this was a bad idea… and yet, you find you can’t stop yourself from walking, as though your limbs are being pulled by an unknown force. Deeper and deeper you go, until...

You step in something wet, and as soon as you do a rotting stench fills your nostrils. You want to gag, want to turn back, but all you can do is march forward. The smell gets worse. Soon, you’re trudging through a sea of blood and viscera, each splash soaking through to your legs--a cold, unpleasant sensation that you can’t seem to shake.

Eventually, you come to a stop. Faintly, you see it ahead of you: a massive throne built out of rotting flesh and blood-slicked roots. Embedded in the ground in front of the throne is a cane sword (visual). But before you can approach, the roots begin to move, slithering like giant snakes through the gore at your feet, and quickly they wind around your ankles, moving up your legs.

What do you do?

Re: THE QLIPHOTH

[softlyfalling]

[ hhhhhhhhhhh

well. surely she has at least one of her swords on her, because what kind of avante would she be if she didn't have a backup for living forge, and she uses it to hack at the roots trying to wind their way around her. at least long enough to get to the cane sword. ]