Haunting House

[Sonnie Wu]

After eying Rhodes for a moment, uncertain of what the Autumn King was doing exactly, Sonnie remained in position to protect Sera. She would not stray far from her charge, even though she felt sort of silly doing this in a haunted house.

Of course, something was hinky about this place, and it wasn't the cheesy decorations.

Golden-yellow eyes turned towards the plastic skeletons at the Treasured's comment, "Hm?" Would she see what Sera saw?

Health 8/8, Willpower 4/4, Glamour 10/12

Hedgespun Boots (+1 SPD), Hedgespun Staff (+2 DMG), Hedgespun Coin Pendant (+2 DEF), baggie of goblin fruit (2 murmurleaves), thermos of coupnettle tea, smartphone, 3 throwing knives (concealed), some Halloween candy.

[Rhodes]

Rhodes' heart was still pounding, Fear fueling his actions. Eyes darted around the room. After several moments with no consequence, she began slowly stalking back to the others.
Perhaps we have neglected our study of Fear too long. No more.

Eyes glanced to where Sera was pointing. Surely they weren't always that way? They had looked clean, almost artificial? Now they looked almost natural. Rhodes extends a pale hand out to the hand of one of the skeletons and tries to remove one of the finger-bones, trying to tell if it felt real.

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-11-17 04:50:22	Rhodes rolls 4 to Real Bone? Wits 3 + Medicene 1 (10 Again)	3, 1, 2, 5	failure

Maybe it was the Fear. Maybe it was that he had death with animal bones often and human were literally a different animal, but it was impossible to tell.

How had they made the floor shake? There were too many questions. But if someone held the answers, It would be whoever made that sound.

"Someone must have made the sound. We should look upstairs." Rhodes was trying t keep the fear and uncertainty form his voice. He was only sure he partly succeeded, but he wasn't going to give up yet.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-11-17 04:59:37	Rhodes rolls 7 to Hide Fear - Composure 3 + Subterfuge 4 (10 Again)	9, 7, 3, 5, 5, 3, 6	1 success

Yay Fortitude! Also I believe detecting Rhodes cover-up is Wits+Empathy/Subterfuge, though I'm sure Saber Sloth can tell us

Equipment: Hip flask of scotch whiskey, wallet containing a picture of Sera and $214, fake IDs, keys, Hedgespun coat (+1 def)
Defence: 4 (3 base, Hedgespun active)
Health: 7/7
Willpower: 1/2
Glamour: 8/10

[Saber Sloth]

Sonnie (and Rhodes) do see what Sera see's, they didn't see the exact moment the artificial became real, but the effects are obvious.

Something in the room has started to...smell.

Retracing their steps would lead them back towards the main entry hall, and the grandiose staircase leading up, looking now the once white marble is a darkly stained wood, and toward the door and it's miraculously repairing glass...it's black outside.

Completely and utterly.

I'll say yes for Fortitude!

and sure for the hide emotions, I'm sure the quick list in your minisheet, the provided rolls page will give you the right number of dice for a hide emotions check

[Seraphina]

A quick nod, “So weird! But really neat!” hoping Sonnie saw the changes like she did.

There was relief when Rhodes decides to join them once again. It wasn’t often she saw him display fear of something. But there were some weird and unexplained things going on. And she knew she could only deny the fear and push past it for so long before it would win.

“Upstairs? You think it came from up there?” truth be told, she had no idea where it came from. If she had to guess where it came from, she could say hidden speakers with the main control in the basement. But she was also quite happy to not go into a basement, if the place had one. Nothing good came from basements.

When she notices the smell, her face scrunches in disgust, wow, they’re going after all the senses here, “Ew.” Was all she had to say.

Pausing at the sight of the staircase, and the complete blackness from behind the windows, “Uh, ok.” The word drawn out slightly. Maybe there was something not mundane going on here. “Seems the building is set to change.” Would it also move walls and doors? Trapping them within? “Soo,” gesturing to the stairs, “shall we?” if there is no protest from the others, she’ll start going up stairs. But if stopped, she’ll stop.

Hedgespun Necklace(+1 singing), dagger, 1 bottles of water, bag of Reese’s Pieces, gauze and medical tape, compact with mirror, cell on silent
Health 7
WP 3
Glamour 10/10

[Sonnie Wu]

Still with her staff out, Sonja prodded at the skeletons. "Huh... they bone now. That's... um, really weird and I do not like it." She glanced around, curious and wary. "We should be ready in case more of this stuff... becomes real..." A thought both fascinating and unpleasant.

"Upstairs then? Let's go..." Maybe there'd be a window they could open. Climbing out would be child's play for her, and she could help the Fairest make the descent.

Health 8/8, Willpower 4/4, Glamour 10/12

Hedgespun Boots (+2 SPD), Hedgespun Staff (+2 DMG), Hedgespun Coin Pendant (+2 DEF), baggie of goblin fruit (2 murmurleaves), thermos of coupnettle tea, smartphone, 3 throwing knives (concealed), some Halloween candy.

[Rhodes]

Rhodes pulls the flask form his jacket pocket - the contents drowned out the scent of decay (for him at least). "Sounded like it to me."

He offered her a nod, following up the stairs.

Sonnie's thoughts were sparking his own ideas. "It's... certainly possible. We need to watch out for anything. Stairs turning to rotton wood, for example." He eyed the banistair warily, but continued to follow up the stairs.

I didn't actually mean to trigger his Virtue at this time, but I'll certainly take it!

Equipment: Hip flask of scotch whiskey, wallet containing a picture of Sera and $214, fake IDs, keys, Hedgespun coat (+1 def)
Defence: 4 (3 base, Hedgespun active)
Health: 7/7
Willpower: 2/2
Glamour: 8/10

[Saber Sloth]

They leave the ground floor and the yawning blackness behind the windows behind.

They travel up the stairs, up and up and up, it seems to go on forever, long enough for the the bannister has been replaced by a wall, the staircase enclosed and at the top, a door. Opening it, they pass through a tight hallway. Traveling through the hallway the Lost find themselves back in the foyer.

Back on the ground floor.

[Seraphina]

Sera nodded in agreement; she wasn’t too fond of it either. And she raised a good point, being on guard. If this was in fact real, being ready for it would be good. And even if it was in fact all fake, they had nothing to lose by being on guard.

An eyebrow arches at the flask, surprised by the use of it for the smell. Huh, pretty smart she thinks.

Now rotten wood would just suck. Would it simply give way? Or would they have time to invoke Contracts and save themselves? Either way, she moves a bit more carefully, but still with purpose.
With the number of stairs, Sera has to go back to what the outside looked like. Was there a tower? Cause this feels like steps to a tower. Through the door and hallway and…wait…what?!

Stopping, she spins around, a surprised look on her face. “Uhh, ok.” The word drawn out as she looks to Sonnie and Rhodes. “This is weird.” Like, beyond a simple haunted house for Halloween weird. But a thought occurs to her, “So we passed through a tight hallway when we went, or thought we were upstairs right? Maybe the tight hallway we decided not to take would lead us to the real upstairs?” a thoughtful look, “Or I’m just crazy and have no idea. Both are very plausible at this time. But it sounds solid in my head.”

Hedgespun Necklace(+1 singing), dagger, 1 bottles of water, bag of Reese’s Pieces, gauze and medical tape, compact with mirror, cell on silent
Health 7
WP 3
Glamour 10/10

[Sonnie Wu]

Up and up and away! Sonnie climbed the stairs with care, trying not to let the steps creak too much, even if stealth was probably pointless. It became more of a game then anything else. Not that it mattered, anyway, as she and the two Fairest found themselves back in the foyer... somehow.

The Beast blinked in surprise, looking around the room.

"Wow," she said, sounding impressed, "This must have taken a lot of work, making this upstairs room look exactly like the downstairs one. You ever been to the Winchester House? That place is a doozy!"

In spite of her goofy rambling, Sonnie was on alert. Banter calmed her nerves. Sometimes. She actually knew quite well this was the same room (probably), and that this shouldn't be happening.

She attempted to call upon a Contract, to heighten her senses. She reached out to her connection to the aspect of Primate, channeled the Glamour as per the clause...

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-11-23 18:22:37	Sonnie Wu rolls 7 to Fang & Talon 2: Wits 4 A+ Wyrd 3 (10 Again)	3, 1, 2, 2, 2, 5, 1	failure

...and got nothing back.

No magical senses. Not even the distant chittering laughter of monkeys she usually heard when invoked the Contract. Sonnie blinked her eyes and stuck a pinky finger in her ear to wiggle for wax. For whatever reason, the fickle Wyrd had refused her.

"That was weird."

Health 8/8, Willpower 4/4, Glamour 8/12

Hedgespun Boots (+2 SPD), Hedgespun Staff (+2 DMG), Hedgespun Coin Pendant (+2 DEF), baggie of goblin fruit (2 murmurleaves), thermos of coupnettle tea, smartphone, 3 throwing knives (concealed), some Halloween candy.

[Rhodes]

The large eyes of the Flowering are darting around. Fear was here, and there was no shame in embracing it. However...

"Hmmm. That's... interesting." Emerging back onto the same level? Clever. His first thought was they had passed into the Hedge, but surely one of them would have sensed such a thing. Warping the physical side of the world? That certainly was concerning.

Sera's theory was plausible, but Rhodes wasn't ready to write off his own senses just yet. "Maybe."

Sonnie was given a glance, but it was enough to see that she was taking things seriously. Perhaps she chattered when nervous. "Can't say I have. Worth the trip?"

The occultist's eyes were still darting around. "Alright. Lets use a little Greek ingenuity." Pulling the keys from his pocket, he used one to mark a small X in the paint on the wall where they emerged. "Now, if we go upstairs and see the cross, we know it's the same space."

He wouldn't be the King of Autumn without a small contingency plan, but why shoot all one's ideas at once? The classics often worked just as well. Rhodes gestured towards the stairs. "Once more, with feeling?"

Equipment: Hip flask of scotch whiskey, wallet containing a picture of Sera and $214, fake IDs, keys, Hedgespun coat (+1 def)
Defence: 4 (3 base, Hedgespun active)
Health: 7/7
Willpower: 2/2
Glamour: 8/10