Each student ready to move from the first year to the second would find a nice, neatly printed letter taped to their door inviting them to participate in a "Non-Mandatory-But-Highly-Recommended-Anyway Test" (or NMBHRAT for short). A location was provided at the bottom of the note (a section of the grounds, just near the forest), and beneath that the words "Come at anytime."
Upon arrival, you would first notice that a peculiar house has been erected. It's not large enough to overshadow any of the dorms by any means; in fact, it seems rather tiny and shabby in comparison, with the door half stripped of its paint, the windows cracked and smeared with dust, and everything looks as though the merest touch will make it collapse.
At first you wonder if you're in the right place at all, but then you notice a little box sitting just outside of the house. Closer examination would reveal a note, written in a loopy handwriting perhaps familiar to some:
Welcome welcome to the House Please be quiet as a mouse The House will tell if you are good The House will tell if you are bad
Think you're up to face the thing? If you pass it, all will sing Do your best, oh fair student I hope your deaths you do circumvent
THE EXAM
THE HOUSE OF HORRORS
The smell is what gets your attention first; like smoke and old wood, it wafts across the air towards you, enticing you onward, pulling you forward, and you reach the little shabby house and the door half hanging off its hinges, practically begging you to come inside.
A sign posted outside reads "Welcome to the House."
At first, you're mildly concerned but upon knocking stepping inside, you realize that the house in question appears deserted.
Well, that's just creepy. But trying to go backwards only results in failure - the door has locked behind you. You're trapped inside, and now you must figure out how to get through the house in order to continue on your quest.
--------------------------------------------
TO GET THROUGH THE HOUSE:
There are THREE MAJOR ROOMS to the House of Horrors. In order to successfully pass through the House and receive your exam credit, you must navigate through all three rooms until you reach the exit, located after the very last room:
Cutthroat Kitchen
To get through the Cutthroat Kitchen, you need 10 steps. Roll 1d4 and add up the amount of steps you take (i.e. you roll a 3, that's 3 steps forward). You must get at least 10 steps. If you go over ten, that's fine, as long as it's at least 10.
Each number of steps rolled has it's own consequence: 1 - You open a door in the kitchen looking for the exit and promptly find yourself dunked by a bucket of icy water. Who left that there? 2 - You trip and fall into a vat of what looks like melted chocolate. 3 - You step in a pile of what looks like sticky glue on the floor and therefore get it stuck on the bottom of your foot/shoe for the rest of your trek through the House. 4 - For some reason, there is an entire bin of tiny bones that you somehow manage to knock over, which, of course, makes a terribly loud sound.
Lurking Library
In order to get through the Library, you'll have to find the right combination of books in order to find the combination. Roll 3d6, and follow the guidelines below:
- 1,1 OR 2,2 as two of the numbers - Looks like you've found some sort of...oops better put that back quickly before a certain cranky Librarian sees you looking at por - (try again) - 3,3 OR 4,4 OR 5,5 OR 6,6 as two of the numbers - You pull out a book, and then another, and to your relief you see that the door beyond swings open for you to slip through! (success) - 1,2,3 (doesn't have to be in order) - Somehow you get entangled in what looks like a long rope made of paper and spend several moments trying to break your way free, when you notice that in the process you've actually fallen out the door into the next room. How convenient! (success) - 6,6,6 Is that a giant spi - quick run for it - (start back in the first room) - 1,1,1 You try climbing a bookshelf, rather than pull books trying to find the secret switch, and wind up tumbling over the side rather ungracefully. But hey, look, the...nope, just a shadow (try again)
Bloodcurdling Bedroom
The Bloodcurdling Bedroom requires only one thing - picking the lock successfully to get through the door on the other side. Roll 1d100. You must get above a 65 to have successfully picked the lock. If you roll below, then your attempts were unsuccessful and you have to keep on truckin'.
Upon their exit from the house, a certain mischievousTrick or Treater can be found lounging in a tree on the other side, looking as happy as a pig in mud. He smiles down at you, his grin terribly self-satisfied, and tosses you a rolled up piece of parchment. Opening it, you see a certificate of Exam Completion.
"Congratulations," he says brightly, and flashes you a wink. "You're now a Knob."
Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 7:29 pm
Aldara had just returned to her room after a rousing day at the Maul, treating herself to a shopping trip to pick up a few things to make up for the madness of the past few weeks. She figured that she could use a little bit of normalcy; something familiar... Something sane. It had worked, of course, putting her back into a proper mind frame to focus on things.
Which was good, considering the note that had been taped to her door.
The harpy ghoul snatched the piece of paper down, reading over it several times while fumbling to shift her bags so that she could unlock the door to her room. "Not-Mandadory-But-Hughly-Recommended-Anyway... Sounds mandatory to me..." She muttered, stuffing the paper into one of her bags before finally pushing the door to her room open with a soft grunt.
Once inside she glanced at the clock, pondering whether or not now was the 'come at anytime' that she would chose. Now was as good a time as any... Not too early, not too late. She was already in a good mood, why not continue with that shopping high and rock the hell out of whatever test was waiting her?
Decision made, she changed out of her fashion finery into something a bit more simple; a plain skirt that was long enough for modesty but short enough to allow her proper room to move about in and a comfortable tank top. She accessorized from there, picking only the things that she would have worn into 'battle' back home; natural, inspiring pieces, some of which were sentimental enough to give her the motivation to fight if she needed to. Once she'd found a pair of comfortable, flat leather sandals she snatched the letter, checking the address once more before heading out.
...........
When she arrived at the home the first thing she did was check the address written on the sheet of paper before looking once more upon the house... No, shack... That she had been summoned to. This couldn't be right, could it? Was this really where she was supposed to come to take this test?
Ready to turn around and walk away, perhaps consult some of the other boils and ghouls of Amityville to see if they had received similar summons, she likely would have continued to leave had something not caught her eye. It was a little box, completely out of place compared to the rest of the home, just waiting for her. Curiosity, of course, got the best of her and she decided to investigate only to find...
Another note.
Welcome welcome to the House Please be quiet as a mouse The House will tell if you are good The House will tell if you are bad
Think you're up to face the thing? If you pass it, all will sing Do your best, oh fair student I hope your deaths you do circumvent
"Die here? In this shack? Pff." She snorted, crumpling the note before slipping inside.
The scent caught her attention as the door creaked open; old wood, a welcoming fire. It brought her back to memories of bonfires down on the beach of her island home, drawing her in past the Welcome sign without any further hesitation. She half expected to find Aleka, or one of the rookery mothers, waiting on the other side for her. That would have been nice; a familiar face brought in to take her through the paces and go over all that she had learned.
Aldara was met with no such thing however. Only an eerie emptiness lingered followed by the sound of the door clicking shut behind her. Her heart leaped into a momentary panic and she quickly responded as though she had just sprung a trap, eyes darting around to find the nearest possible exits.
The door behind her was out. If it had clicked shut on its own (she was certain she had left it open) then there was no way that it wasn't trapped and potentially dangerous. The only option that she saw was a head; a doorway at the end of the narrow hall. She tapped her fingers against her thigh in irritation, glancing back behind her once more only to carry on forward.
Now Entering...
Cutthroat Kitchen
Aldara paused at the corner, peering around it cautiously only to find... A kitchen? What was so frightening about that? Nothing. That was all. Nothing. She could handle a kitchen.
The harpy took a deep breath, releasing it soundly before rounding the corner only to bump into a small rubbish bin. She cursed as she stumbled forward, catching herself but not before knocking the bin over. The sound that resulted, bones tumbling and scattering across the ground, was loud enough to draw anyone or any thing to her. This was not the best way to plan an escape...
Her next step after that was a bit more cautious, although clearly not cautious enough as the fall of her left foot came down on a spot of tacky glue that she hadn't noticed in the dim lighting. It only became obvious when her foot stuck. Brow furrowed, she pulled it up, making a disgusted face at the sound it made only to become increasingly more irritated as the sound came again and again with every step forward she made.
"Wonderful. Just wonderful." The harpy ghoul muttered beneath her breath.
The next step brought more irritation along with it. Step, stick. Step, stick. Step...
This time the stick involved the bottom of her sandal practically sealing itself to a rotted board on the floor. Had she stepped on another sticky spot? Was she just going to have to lose her shoe? She'd just gotten these ones and there was no guarantee they'd go on sale again and...
With a grunt of frustration, Aldara gave her foot another solid tug and her sandal came free from the floor with an ease that she had not expected. Her eyes went wide in sudden surprise as she tumbled forward only to trip into a vat of what looked as though it might be...
Melted chocolate.
She stuck with that thought, determined not to taste it, or smell it or think of anything else that it might be. She was in a kitchen and it was melted chocolate and she would not scream. She would not scream. The warmth of it was almost pleasant, actually, if she could make herself focus on that as opposed to the thought that the clothing she had on was likely ruined, never mind how long it would take her to clean off whatever bits of jewelry it had gotten on.
With a low growl, Aldara placed her hands on either side of the vat and attempted to pull herself up out of it.
Her attempt failed. Miserably. She would later look back on the situation and blame it all on the glue; the glue for sticking to the floor and causing her to stumble into the vat of melted chocolate and, from there, for sticking to the bottom of the vat and causing her to stumble back into the sticky mess.
This time she did not hold back her shriek of rage. Tapping into her natural ability as a harpy only added fuel to the fire of the sound and if there were anything that was going to attack her while she was stuck, well, it would know right where to find her... And it would either come put her out of her misery or it would hide in fear.
Hell hath no fury like a harpy stuck in chocolate.
"I don't even like chocolate." She wailed as an afterthought to her battle cry, throwing a small pity party before gathering her composure enough to give it one more go. Surprisingly, she pulled herself out without a hitch, removing her shoes the moment her feet were on the floor again. Aldara left the sandals sitting there just outside the vat as a reminder that sometimes fashion could be a hindrance when one was trying to be focused.
"Lesson learned." She muttered to herself as she took another step forward, snatching a moth-eaten towel off of the counter to try and wipe some of the chocolate goop off of herself as she proceeded onward to the next room.
Upon entering the library she didn't even realize that it was a library, spending more time trying to slough some of the chocolate off of her so that she could continue on. She couldn't exactly touch books with her hands coated in the sticky residue, after all.
Aldara tossed the towel aside once she was content that she was at least able to use her hands, the rest of the chocolate cooling enough to flake off in some places now that she was no longer in the vat keeping it warm. It gave her a chance to finally glance around as she tried to shake off her skirt to keep it from crunching as she moved.
"Impressive." She murmured to herself, obviously not expecting anyone else in the House of Horrors by this point. It was likely a good thing that no one answered or she may have shrieked again...
The problem that Aldara had with the library was that it did not seem to have any doors, other than the one she had entered through, at least. That door, of course, only lead back into the kitchen and she was not putting herself through that again (not that it would lead anywhere but back to the dead end of a front door).
"No looking back." She gave herself a quick pep before taking another step into the library, brushing her fingers along the spines of several books on a nearby shelf. There had to be a trip somewhere. It wouldn't be much of a House of Horrors if it simply consisted of a disgusting kitchen and a dead end library, would it?
With a soft huff, Aldara pulled one book from the shelf, paying no mind to the title as she tossed it to the floor, grabbing the one immediately next to it afterwards. There had to be a switch or a line or a button or...
Pulling the second book free triggered a cloud of dust as one of the book cases rattled and then swung open, leaving her an open door to the next room. With smug satisfaction she turned away from her bookshelf, making her way to the next piece of the puzzle.
The sound of a door swinging shut behind her was hardly surprising, as that seemed to be the way of things. It also wouldn't have surprised her to find the books that she had left on the floor back on the shelf, but that was something she would never know because there was no going back.
As her eyes adjusted to the dim, eerie light of the room she took in her surroundings. There was a lopsided bed in the corner that looked as though it might collapse if someone were to actually lie down on it, a wardrobe, a night stand... And a door.
Aldara made her way quickly across the room to the door, jiggling the knob only to discover that it was locked. "Of course." She muttered, looking around quickly before starting a thorough search of the room. There had to be something to help her with the door.
There was. After several long moments of essentially turning the room upside down, Aldara found a small set of lock picks in one of the small drawers within the wardrobe. Brilliant! She knew how to use these. She would be out in no time, right?
Wrong.
Although the lack of light made it easier to focus on the sound of the picks working on the antique tumblers within the lock, it also enhanced every other sound that the house made. She was so close to having the right angle to pop the lock when a board settling caused her to jump out of her skin, picks falling from her hands and scattering in opposite directions across the floor.
The harpy ghoul snarled a curse before gathering her tools from the ground so that she could start the process again. She had been so close and yet in letting herself become distracted by something stupid. Mentally berating herself, she tried to find the sweet spot in the lock that she had just missed tapping before.
Her frustration only served to throw her off, taking away from her determination by simply making her mad. She lowered the picks from the lock, slamming her fists against the door as she let out an angry cry before attempting to refocus herself once more.
"You know how to do this. You're not going to get out unless you get your temper under check, Aldara." She hissed at herself, taking a deep breath afterwards only to release it slowly as she started in on the lock again.
By the time she had the picks almost right where she wanted them again her tongue was sticking out of the corner of her mouth and her head was leaning against the door, tilted in just a way that she could listen for the right sounds. One more click and all she had to do was turn and...
She heard it. The click made her eyes go wide, heart pounding with excitement even as she tried to hod the rest of herself still, not wanting to lose the angle. Please don't lose the angle...
She bit down on her lower lip, eyes closed tightly as she tried to rotate the picks to turn the lock only to hear a scrape as her fingers twitched and she lost her grip along with any chance that the lock would pop on that go. This time she didn't scream or throw a tantrum, she simply sighed, taking that failure in stride before trying again.
It was another minute or two before she made herself try again, several deep, calming breaths taken over the course of the minutes that passed. She found that 'zen' again along with her determination, not willing to accept another failure. She was going to get out this time. She was going to make this lock her b***h.
Once more she had her tongue out, head to the door so that she could listen. Once more she heard the right clicks before pushing herself away from the door, holding herself as still as possible before slowly, so slowly, rotating the picks.
Click
Creeeaaaakkk
Aldara scrambled back as the door swung open, blinking at the light on the other side as she brought her hand up to shield her eyes enough to make out the shape of a figure... Waiting for her?
