Monday, October 13th, 2014
Round 1: Arrival
The Sun sets early at the Mansion. Long shadows from the mountains to the West shroud the narrow road winding toward the alpine resort, and the darkness is deepened by the tightly packed trees which loom over the pavement. A crow squawks raucously, flying deeper into the wilderness as a loud engine startles it from its perch. The only other sound is the wind whipping down from the icy mountain peaks.
Mr. Kingston shivers in the wind, clutching his coat tight around him. He does not like the wind. He does not like the mountains. He does not like the Mansion. However, the Weatherford Group does not much care what he does or does not like. The Weatherford Group needed a capable, dependable executive to come in and take over the property after the Greenbriar unpleasantness, and if there are two words which describe Mr. Kingston they would be "capable" and "dependable," though you could also use the words "stodgy," "boring," and, at this very moment, "increasingly irritable," for reasons which are not entirely his fault.
Mr. Kingston is not the sort of person to appreciate fine automobiles, which is a shame since the car currently coughing its way up the road is a true diamond in the rough. An aficionado would be able to tell him that the 1969 Mercury Cyclone is a true classic, and would back it up with a discussion of the hps and cids and rpms and all sorts of other acronyms associated with the car, but all Mr. Kingston would hear is a lot of noise unrelated to the rusty, dented, rolled-off-the-junkyard vehicle currently rolling onto his property.
Mr. Kingston stumps down the front steps as the car creaks to a halt, disgorging its occupants. The father and the mother stretch, working out kinks and cramps from the long drive as they take in their shadowy surroundings. The firstborn son unfolds himself from the cramped backseat, grimacing and tucking away his videogame. The youngest daughter scrambles out behind him, laughing and grabbing at the family dog's fur, keeping him from running into the woods.
To give credit where credit is due, Mr. Kingston does attempt to wipe the irritated sneer from his face, though he succeeds only in producing a grotesque scowl. "You are late, Mr. Wilkerson."
Mr. Wilkerson shrugs apologetically. "I'm sorry, we got a bit lost. We had a heluva time getting directions from anyone." He thrusts out his hand. "Call me Floyd."
"I'm Mr. Kingston." he responds grudgingly, shaking the proffered hand. "We spoke on the phone."
"Right." Floyd nods. "I meant... Well, this is my wife, Mary-Anne,"
"Pleased to meet you." she interrupts, smiling politely.
"And these are our children, Garen and Maryn." Floyd says, gesturing towards his offspring.
"You forgot Harpo!" Maryn pipes up.
"Yes, I know who you all are." Mr. Kingston interrupts, pressing an overstuffed manilla folder into Floyd's hands. "We already discussed the family during the interview. We also discussed the salient points on the maintenance of the property in the
followup interview. That folder you are holding contains the picayune details associated with the performance your tasks. As far as I can tell, there is no reason for me to delay any further. The Mansion is in your hands now."
"What, you're not gonna give us the tour?" Floyd asks, surprised.
"You have the next four months to learn this property inside and out." Mr. Kingston says impatiently. "Perhaps I would indulge you if you had arrived on time, Mr. Wilkerson, but I must leave immediately if I am to return to civilization before nightfall. I have no intention of driving through these...
mountains in the dark."
"Oh. Well, I guess I'll see you in a few months then."
"Yes." Mr. Kingston says abruptly. Turning away from the family, he strides to his nearby vehicle. The headlights stab into the deepening twilight, and with no further ceremony the impatient executive abandons the property.
"What a strange man." Mary-Anne murmurs. "Though it is getting rather late. What do you say to cold cuts from the car for dinner, and we can get to bed early?"
"Sounds good to me." Floyd answers, pecking her on the cheek. "I'll get the car away and take care of the dog."
"Make sure you unpack enough for us to get through the night." The Mrs. admonishes.
"I will, I will."
Fatherly Objective Set!
Motherly Objective Set!Garen looks back down the road, down into the forested valley and up at the sun-dappled slopes of the Eastern mountains. He's never really been this high up in the mountains before, and it's a novel experience. Being able to look down on the land like this is an interesting new perspective, one uncluttered by the distinctions of state and county, route and town and park which typically blanket a map. There's no signs of human habitation in sight, no streetlights or chimneysmoke or even an obvious road apart from the one he just took. It's one thing to see the terrain on a map from his hometown library, it's quite another to see it like a bird does.
He could make a way better map than what was at the library.
While Garen looks out over the landscape, Maryn stands behind him, looking up at the Mansion. It's
big. The door itself is half a dozen steps up from the driveway which encircles the building, and it is flanked by a pair of fluted columns which make the first story seem even taller. Narrow, pointed windows achieve the same effect on the second story, reaching right up to the sharply slanted rooftop. A chimney claws towards the dark blue sky, a wisp of smoke trailing into the heavens.
Maryn scratches her head, releasing the dog. The Mansion is shaped
wrong. The corners aren't square. The East and West walls slant away from the front steps, neatly trimmed hedges lining the front of the building. The windows on the first story are much larger than those on the second story, tall and arched. The West windows are blocked by heavy drapes, and while the East windows are clear there are no lights within, leaving only impressions of mounded, irregular shapes within.
It's a very peculiar sort of house.
"Hey kids!" Floyd shouts, waving at Garen and Maryn. "The bedrooms are on the second floor. Go figure out which room you want so we can bring your stuff inside!"
Teenager Objective Set!
Little Kid Objective Set!Harpo enthusiastically watches the children run off toward the Car, much the same way Harpo watches most things. The trip so far has been quite exciting- such smells! such sights! such sounds!- but now Harpo's out of the cramped Car and outside where Harpo can run, and that's also exciting!
Everyone seems to be making a fuss over the Car, possibly because the Car seems to be dead again. The Car looked dead when Harpo first saw the Car, but then the Car roared and shouted and ran around before dying again, but THEN the Car STOPPED and the Car really seemed to be dead in the driveway except that sometimes the Car would roar again and go for a run, or sometimes the Car would just roar and then die and then the Floyd man would be angry and shout, except sometimes he smelled excited or happy instead.
The Car confuses Harpo.
Still, the Car might be the sickest member of the pack, but now the Car is sick in a strange new place that Harpo has never been. This is not good, since the Car is definitely the fastest and strongest of the pack, and it is a long run back home, Harpo thinks. The woods are big, and the wind carries the sharp scent of pine trees and the earthy smell of fallen rain and the wild, feral aroma of deer and raccoons and squirrels and turkey and cougars and bears and all
kinds of birds and-
With everyone so distracted, Harpo needs to investigate the area!
Dog Objective Set!Floyd the FatherObjective:
Unpack the car!AP:
3/3XP:
0/10Status: Normal
Inventory: Manilla FolderTraits:
Gearhead Mary-Anne the MotherObjective:
Feed the family!AP:
3/3XP:
0/10Status: Normal
Inventory: None
Traits:
Mama's Healing Kisses Garen the TeenagerObjective:
Get the best room!AP: 3/3XP: 0/5Status: Normal
Inventory: Nintendo DSi
Traits: Diverse Interests (Geography) Maryn the Little KidObjective:
Get the best room!AP: 3/3XP: 0/10Status: Normal
Inventory: None
Traits: Curious Little Monkey Harpo the Family Dog.Objective:
SMELL EVERYTHINGAP: 3/3XP: 0/10Status: Normal
Inventory: None
Trait: Loyal Companion Augh that was way too hard to choose family members. Congratulations to those who made the cut, condolences to those who turned in great sheets but fell victim to the 5 player limit, with special mention to Tsuchigumo and Gamerlord (as the highly competitive Teen slot came down to three characters rolling dice at one another) and all of the Family Dogs. Don't feel too bad, everyone who made it is going to die horribly have a long and uneventful winter of boredom.
Shoutout to Fniff for the best family name!
Excuse the delay, that got wall of texty. Turns won't usually be quite this mammoth. Exposition, ho!
Author
Topic: Winter on the Mountain: Round 2 (Read 11975 times)