Monday, October 13th, 2014
Turn 4
"I call this one!"
Call out a claim on the room, with every intention of changing which room I'm claiming if I find a better one, and continue checking rooms really fast to see if I can find one that is better than this one. also look at the ceilings for attic doors.
"You two stay out of trouble! If it looks dangerous somewhere, don't go in! I mean it, Meryn!"
"Yes Daaaaaaad." I yell back from upstairs.
...Having staked her claim to the room, Maryn begins searching to find a
better room. Heading back down the hall, she opens the door opposite the grandfather clock and reaches inside to flip the lightswitch. Soft yellow lights from simple stand lamps placed in the corners of the room illuminate the Library. A surprisingly large collection of bookcases fill the space, each shelf crammed with books. To the left, a comfy-looking sofa and a polished desk and chair serve as a reading nook near the lone window. A matching wooden filing cabinet stands next to the desk.
Maryn cranes her neck, peering between the stacks. This room seems very quiet- maybe it's the carpet?- and Maryn can't see everything from the doorway, but she can see enough to know that this isn't a bedroom. Looking back up the hallway, Garen has opened the other two doors, so there's no point in checking out those rooms just now. The only entrance to the attic that Maryn can see is the hatch in the ceiling. The pull cord is pretty high up, but that shouldn't be too big of a problem, since Maryn is an
excellent jumper.
Maryn hears Mom calling from downstairs, but surely there's time for more exploring before dinner, right?
Maryn Objective set!Find a room with a view, just find a room with a view, aaa!
...An ineffable anxiety grips Garen as Maryn calls out dibs on her room. It's a pretty good room, big and comfy and...
scenic. But these other rooms must be bedrooms, right? They'll have the same view, right? Right?
Moving to the end of the hall, Garen opens the door and flips on the light. It's a bedroom, alright; probably the best bedroom. Unfortunately, it's surely also his parents' bedroom. The large room is lined with multiple dressers and a huge mirror on the northern wall, and a king-sized bed sits under the large window on the western wall. An ornately carved chest sits at the foot of the bed, and lamps carved in a similar style stand in the corners of the room, illuminating the space. The eastern wall has a large desk and a similarly large chair. The southern wall has a closed wooden wardrobe.
Heading back out into the hall, Garen can see Maryn poking around in what looks like a library. There's only one more door. This is it. Garen's room.
He opens the door.
For once, it's a square room. The eastern wall holds the bed, nightstand, and lamp. The western wall holds a desk, dresser, and chest all similar to Maryn's. Unlike every other room on the second floor, this bedroom is uncarpeted. The hardwood floor is finished with a dark stain, and seems to be
slightly discolored in front of the window. It's, hard to tell, really, since it's somewhat dim in here. The lamp activated by the lightswitch seems to be turned low, and the light from the window...
The tall, narrow window is covered with cheap plywood, with durable plastic peeking out from the edges. Garen walks over to it, dumbfounded. Of all the rooms in the whole Mansion, Garen had the one with
no window. No, not just no window, a
broken window it looks like! What kind of Mansion has broken windows?
To add insult to injury, this room seems warmer than the rest of the house, almost uncomfortably so. Looking around, Garen sees
a ventilation grate near the floor on the eastern wall which seems to be blowing a fair amount of hot air. Moving over, he tries to adjust the airflow, but while he can freely close the air slits the vent itself is not securely in the wall; it's actually a bit loose. Great.
Garen sighs. This is definitely not the best room. Well... maybe he can make do. The room only
seems uninviting because he hasn't gotten settled in yet, is all. It's not like he
needs a ton of space; there's plenty of empty rooms in the Mansion to spread out maps in and do some sketching. Yeah.
Garen runs a hand through his hair. Well, if this is his room, then it would be good to get unpacked before dinner. That way, at least he'd be able to relax after dinner.
Garen Objective set!Maryn Objective met! +3 XP "Alright, hon," Mary-Anne replied to Floyd. "Dinner will be waiting for you when you get back."
After Floyd left, Mary-Anne carefully stacked all of the dishes that were not currently in use in the sink and ran water in them, no sense in waiting until after dinner to start cleaning. Once that little task was completed, she would have to try and find the dining room and set the table for the family. It was rather strange, realizing that she was in such a strange place that she would actually have to find the dining room...
"Garen, Maryn," Mary-Anne called up the stairs as soon as she got out of the kitchen. "Dinner is ready! Come down while it's still hot, the house will still be here after dinner!"
Prep dishes for future cleaning, Send out first call to children, make sure those funny burners are indeed off, embark to find living room.
...Dinner might be ready, but a mother's work is never done. Mary-Anne brings the now-empty skillet to the sink, running it under hot water to wash the fat down the drain. It will be
much easier to wash without greasy buildup.
Mary-Anne takes a quick glance around the kitchen. There might be plenty of table space for food, but there's no chairs in here, making it a less than ideal dining location. Walking to the eastern wall, she sticks her head through the door, and smiles. She's found the Dining Hall.
It is a large room with a high ceiling. Two rows of three long tables fill the room, with the chairs stored upside down on each table to ease cleaning of the floor. Large stone statues of Grecian physiques decorate each corner of the room. The ceiling is painted with vivid colors depicting a Biblical scene; Eve in the Garden of Eden, holding aloft a red apple. The large windows along the walls are blocked with heavy curtains. To her right, a broad stone fireplace lies cold and empty. Double glass doors in the wall lead outside, while another door leads back to the heart of the Mansion.
Bustling to the nearest table, Mary-Anne sets 4 chairs on the ground and quickly wipes at imagined dust on the tabletop. She heads to the kitchen, and quickly returns to the dining room with the children's meals.
She sticks her head into the central stair room. "Garen, Maryn," Mary-Anne called up the stairs as soon as she got out of the kitchen. "Dinner is ready! Come down while it's still hot, the house will still be here after dinner!"
Family Happily Fed: 0/4Dinner will be hot until the end of next turn!"Shoot. Damn wind," Floyd muttered as he hurried into the house. "Hey, Mary-Anne? I'm gonna go look for Harpo. I'll try to be back in, say, ten minutes? Dog wouldn't have gone too far, I don't think," he called toward the kitchen. That reminded him of something else and he walked to the stairs. "You two stay out of trouble! If it looks dangerous somewhere, don't go in! I mean it, Meryn!" Garen was a cautious enough kid; hopefully he could keep the little spud out of trouble. She could be pretty willful, though. He sighed.
The perils of fatherhood. Thank God at least one of the kids is responsible. He leafed through the folder, looking at the floorplan again, before setting it down near all the luggage and heading outside. "Harpo! Harpo! Come on, boy, come here! Come here, Harpo!" he called out, wandering about the ground randomly.
Floyd checks the floorplan once inside safely with lights to see by, then heads outside and looks around/calls for Harpo.
...Floyd flips through the manilla folder as his wife informs him that dinner is ready. Mmm, something smells like cheese. Mary-Anne really is a marvel... well, the faster the job is done, the faster Floyd can eat. Finding the floorplan, Floyd takes a minute to
memorize every detail. This really
is a weirdly shaped place. Well, whatever, Floyd's a mechanic, not an architect.
Setting the thick folder safely on a bench in the Foyer, Floyd once more braves the cold outside. The wind seems to be picking up, and it's positively frigid. "Harpo! C'mere Harpo!" he calls out. Hopefully he hasn't gotten far, Floyd could use a hot dinner, and certainly doesn't want to be out here after dark.
Floyd hears answering barks... from the opposite side of the house. Sighing to himself, Floyd begins walking around the Mansion, still calling for the dog.
The smell of something positively delicious was something that Harpo found wonderfully motivational - while probably not a good idea to seek out mysterious, yet wonderful smells in the forest, it did remind him that the others would probably be interested in where he had gone off to.
Right now, though, he had a task! He could not fail the family in his role as an advance scout, oh no. He'd get this done by any means necessary!
Spend 2 AP to finish up landmark sniffing as quickly as possible!
...Harpo hears the Floyd man calling for him, but Harpo has sniffed hardly anything! Knowing that time is of the essence, Harpo ignores the tasty treat somewhere in the forest and redoubles Harpo's efforts on sniffing everything. He runs forward towards the tall house!
A narrow dirt path leads from the big house out towards the forest, and Harpo can see that it leads to the tall house, so Harpo begins trotting down it. It's quite dark beneath the trees here, but Harpo has keen vision, and a sharp nose, and keen ears, an- WHAT WAS THAT.
Harpo growls, his hackles rising. The tall house is not far away, a shadowy lump clawing towards the sky, but Harpo is bombarded with the rank, feral scent of
raccoon. The small house smelled of raccoons that were living nearby, but now Harpo smells the
presence of raccoons. Lurking raccoons, angry raccoons, hungry raccoons. Territorial raccoons, somewhere just out of sight.
Harpo barks, taking a few steps forward. Harpo must complete his mission! Harpo spins at the sound of snapping twigs, barking at shadowy shapes that move between the trees. A raspy call comes from behind Harpo, and Harpo whirls around, barking madly at the wide yellow eyes leering from the bushes. Quick movements dance at the edge of Harpo's vision, dirty scuttling thieves with long teeth dashing through the night. The shapes are bigger than the raccoons from home.
Harpo cannot smell the tall house, but he can smell the raccoons, and they are wild, feral,
enraged. They are more than Harpo, more than the family; they are an army in the woods. Harpo howls in defiance, keeping the shades at bay.
They are everywhere.Floyd the FatherObjective:
Unpack the car!AP:
3/3XP:
0/10Status: Normal
Inventory: Manilla Folder (last seen in Foyer)
Traits:
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!,
Unpack!AP: 3/3XP: 0/5Status: Normal
Inventory: Nintendo DSi
Traits: Diverse Interests (Geography) Maryn the Little KidObjective:
Get the best room!,
Explore!AP: 3/3XP: 3/10Status: Normal
Inventory: None
Traits: Curious Little Monkey Harpo the Family Dog.Objectives:
SMELL EVERYTHING,
EAT THE FOREST SMELL!AP: 1/3XP: 0/10Status: Normal
Inventory: None
Trait: Loyal Companion 
Author
Topic: Winter on the Mountain: Round 2 (Read 11987 times)