[heart game]

[dormancy]

There is a click, a soft urging, almost whispered too soft to hear, but you can sense that you are being beckoned somewhere, lead to an elaborate open door with wood panels and great curls of gold leaf. You cannot see what is beyond the door, but it smells sour and sharp. Before you can turn over the thought of should you or shouldn't you, if you are the kind, there is a quiet push at your back and through the door you go . . .

Join #supersafe, because I like being misleading. When in doubt, use this for flower meanings if you character is the type . . .

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[dramatispersonae]

Even if you stumble from the push, the step through the door is no great ordeal. You can right yourself easy enough, but you can sense that the space has been disturbed by your presence, by your very breathing. The air is stagnant and thick, though you can catch a pleasant breeze every now and then. There is only the faint trace of whatever smelled sharp before, hmm.

If you look around, you can see that you are standing on a half-circle veranda. The edge of the veranda spills easily into the grass as the ground dips down along a hill. Away from the edge, a comfortable corners seems to be drawn up with a chaise, a small table, and a bookshelf. Behind you, there is a great marble wall spanning the edge of the veranda with a door left open to whomever may wish to investigate . . .

[crueltobekind]

Where . . .

[heading for the bookshelf to investigate]

[surefire]

[glancing around, taking in the scenery for a moment... then moving over to the bookshelf to check some of the titles]

[playfreebird]

[doesn't stumble, thank you]

[checks out the corner with the chaise, table, etc]

[sightunseen]

[stands on her tiptoes for a moment, breathing in the air; then closes her eyes and tries to feel out which direction thoses gusts of breeze are coming from]

[fraternalorders]

[looks around for a moment and then moves to examine the bookshelf]

[emocalypsed]

...Huh.

[goes to the edge of the veranda to look out first...]

[shipwithwings]

[sits up on his hind legs and ROARS]

[HELLO HEART FOLKS A BIG TOOTHY THING IS HERE NOW JUST FYI]

[thinkoutsidethebox]

Hmm...

[also heads for the bookshelf!]

[shipwithwings]

[going through the door]

[nexrophilia]

[ ...woah

Well... let's go investigate the bookshelf first. ]

[dramatispersonae]

When you enter the gate, you find yourself in a room. It is filled with light and gold which only reflects the light all the more. The light does not sting your eyes in the least, thankfully, and the air is easier to breath in, much more refreshing than before. Somehow, this place feels safe and peace; you can be at ease here.

In the center of the room, Vincent and Gilbert are seated upon a loveseat with the former leaning on the latter.

[sightunseen]

[oh




this is super cute though; are they sleeping?]

[crueltobekind]

Ugh, finally! Vincent, you should make yourself easier to find!

[heading right for them]

[dramatispersonae]

From the edge of the veranda, you can see that you are at the top of a hill that slopes down until it reaches what appears to be a garden not far off. There is a path made of smooth white stones leading to it as well. There don't seem to be many flowers in this garden, however. Instead, there are many hedges circling and weaving around, making some sort of pattern—A maze, certainly. At what looks like the center of it, you can make out a cleared area.

Around the maze, you can see a wrought iron fence circling the outer edge of the garden. It breaks at parts, looking quite battered, but it envelopes the maze completely, and you can make out quite a few gates lining the edge. Getting to them may prove difficult, but if you use the advantage of your height upon the hill right now, then you should be able to find a way . . .

Well, some of the gates, at least. With a dry flap of wings, you may notice that the gate is being used as a perch for some interesting creatures. Directly ahead, a grizzly skeletal bird with a goat head is wrapped up in a red cloak. A stray breeze may carry a smell not unlike rotting flesh to your nose. To the left of the bird-like monster, a small mouse is curled up in itself with a turn key in its back. Somehow, it is managing to sleep upon its precarious perch. To the right of the two, there is a bound woman, if you can make out her figure, that is. Her eyes are covered, her arms are restrained, her legs almost fused together in her too-tight bindings, but her hair flows long and free.

Perhaps, you should be careful in your wanderings, hmm?

Oh, look, a map!

[surefire]

[looking down at the hedge maze, tracing out some of the paths mentally and taking a moment to commit them to memory. then proceeding down the path, entering the maze and heading directly towards the third door first]

[emocalypsed]

[...walks towards the woman...[

[crueltobekind]

[. . . okay . . .]

[Heads into the maze, pointedly away from the woman and the horrifying bird abomination. Maybe towards gate 10?]

[dramatispersonae]

When you enter the gate, you find yourself in a foyer. Though, it may be hard to make that out as it is dark in the room, and the candles set in the chandelier and elsewhere have long been snuffed out. There are heavy black cloths draped upon the furniture, masking their features. This a manor in mourning . . .

[surefire]

[hmm... attempting to lift up one of those black cloths]

[dramatispersonae]

When you enter the gate, you find yourself in a circular stone room. There is a window cut into the wall, and a door is at the center of the room likely leading elsewhere? However, with a few exceptions, the room is bare . . . A book with a white cover lays on the floor with a withered and dried branch set atop it. There appear to be messages written into the wall. The large smear of red over one message gives a very good guess as to what how they got there . . .

[sightunseen]

[rocks on her feet, quiet except for that sign of... uncertainty? restlessness? lets go of Gil's arm and steps lightly to the wall to read the messages, tilting her head.]

[dramatispersonae]

When you find your way to the center of the maze, you find a very strange sight. There is a large rectangular pool of water . . . Or, at least, there was, but it is broken all along the edge, fractured and falling into a deep darkness. You can hear eerie giggles and voices calling out to you in undecipherable phrases from inside the void. However, there are small flickers of a golden light hovering within and just outside the darkness. Perhaps, it isn't as ominous as it seems?

[surefire]

[... I feel like I might have an idea of what this is]

[not approaching any closer, but staring down the void as the best she can from where she is]

[dramatispersonae]

When you enter the gate, you are standing in the middle of a desert. It stretches on for awhile, but you can smell the ocean on the air. There is a small oasis of water nearby, and standing at it is a woman who might be familiar . . . She's missing her head, after all.

[crueltobekind]

[SCREAMS]

[dramatispersonae]

When you jump down into the abyss, you feel yourself slowing . . . Well, rather, you have the feeling that you won't be hurt whenever you land, though it is hard to tell how fast you truly are falling. The ground ripples when you first set your foot down, but it is solid after that that. The golden lights that you saw above are more prolific here, lingering close to the ground but rising up as if upon some invisible tide. This place feels empty and endless, like its presence was taken out, though you can make out random bits of furniture, toys, and the like all around. At least, the darkness doesn't feel threatening.

[surefire]

[... swallows hard and fists her hands in her dress, tensing at the atmosphere... but she knew what kind of place this would be, so she lifts her chin a bit and starts walking forward]

[dramatispersonae]

On one side of the room, there is a small fire built up. A small grate keeps any embers or coals from getting loose and has a pleasant pattern on it. An armchair is set with its back to the fire and has a small table in its reach.

On the other side of the room, opposite the fireplace, is a bookshelf. It seems less daunting than the one on the veranda, but it's hard to tell from this distance. In between the chair and the bookshelf is a small gap of hardwood floor then a raised platform with a checkered pattern that seems to take up the whole of the grand room. There are many pieces from a chess set spread across the platform, though most of them have been knocked over, scattered with no pattern. Though, a solitary white king stands up at the center of the board. There are also many books scattered across the floor that likely belonged in the bookshelf, but where is order in this place, really?

[sightunseen]

[nowhere that she can see... comes in ahead of Gil and starts flipping through books at random, trying to get a sense of the contents]

[dramatispersonae]

When you enter the gate, you arrive in a nicely done up room. The smell of roses is thick in the air, and the few candles flicker which casts long shadows on the wall. There isn't very much light in here. Jack is seated upon the loveseat with a small blonde-haired boy sleeping in his lap. He gives a bright grin to you.

[sightunseen]

Good evening, sir.

[curtsies!]