The night is dark. Flashes of lightning, however brief, arc through the ominous clouds. Wearily, you make your way out to the bonnet-wearing Fountain, now standing out awkwardly in its goose-y demeanor against the dreadful backdrop.
---
"You know, Camera Guy, this is literally the second time you've went out of your way to fuck me over. You help people kill me, and then you STILL get your own TV show AND I even hire you a bodyguard to keep you alive. Now you go and kill my bear? Come on.
I mean sure, the TV show was bullshit, and so was every other piece of information that Contractor was fed, but come on. Name one honest employer in 2020, I'll sit around and wait for your answer. Maybe by the time you give it, we'll have gone through another three time resets."
"Hey, screw you, spooky-shadow-boss dude. All this, and now you're tellin' me that I wasn't actually gonna be on TV? Is this place even actually haunted by these vision-dudes, or were you just spittin' more junk at us?"
"Now that's an interesting question. Truth be told: I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not.
Not even I know what happened to the inhabitants of this place, the ones who built the houses to begin with. Well, I know Valentina got a healthy heaping of likely lifelong trauma, but... I also don't really care. Sucks to be her, I guess.
Point is: Ghosts or no ghosts, they up and vanished one day, never to be heard from again. Some say it has something to do with the Treasure, some say they drowned themselves, some say aliens, but either way, they're gone, not even a grave to mark their legacy.
How's that for a campfire tale?"
"But if you want ghosts, cameraman... Tonight would certainly be the night for that. The weather, the atmosphere, the timing.... and y'know, the game mechanics. They all just... line up nicely.
Oh, you'll get your ghosts. Just maybe not the ones you're looking for.
Not that that's gonna stop me, anyway. I've got a dagger to go grab, even if I've got no idea what it's for. But it's been brought up what, like three times now by the old island dwellers, so I think I'll take it. Just following the lore clues, I'm sure you'll understand.
Speaking of the dearly departed, this pacifism tendency is really not jiving with me. It's so... KG3. Not a fan. Look, I know you want to "win" or whatever, but I really, really could not give less of a shit. So you WILL attempt to kill someone tonight.
Besides, you'll have some spectral onlookers, I'm sure. Wouldn't want to disappoint the vengeful dead."
"V-vengeful dead...?"
---
The weather forecast for the night is Haunting. All dead players will be able to submit actions they can take as a ghost. Ghosts are normally invisible, but can interact with corporeal objects. They will also not receive accounts, though the impacts of their actions will indeed be felt by the living players.
You must attempt to murder someone tonight.
---
THE MAP
Room Descriptions
House Bishop (Red):
1F
Foyer - Doubles as a ballroom. A large room with decorated flooring, fancy chandeliers and many other things that make you believe that you just stepped inside a castle. A piano can be found on the Stage near the Staircase, along with a backdoor.
Coatroom - This room is filled with racks of expensive, yet very old, outdoor wear. Coats, boots, and a few parasols all sit on and around the racks, long forgotten by their previous owners.
Wine Storage - A room slightly depressed into the ground. Despite the floor being worn stonework, you can tell that at one point it was quite beautifully crafted. Several casks and bottles of vintage wine sit throughout the room and on the shelves.
Smoker’s Lounge - A dim room with a large oak table in the center, surrounded by velvet chairs. On the table is a rack containing wooden pipes, and a box that contains what you think is tobacco. A painting sits on the wall with the staircase on the other side, staring disconcertingly.
Vault - A large, iron vault looms out from the wall of the Smoker’s Lounge. It is locked by a large combination lock, too rusted to turn.
House Minerva (Yellow):
1F
Unnerving Hallway - A rather ordinary hallway, made several degrees creepier by the presence of a painting depicting a looming, shadowy figure on one end. Its eyes appear to follow you as you walk.
Painting Room - A claustrophobic room, filled with hundreds upon thousands of different pieces of work, from Portraits of the island’s inhabitants, Sketches of various concepts and Paintings of various luscious landscapes.
Leisure Room - Various activities can be found within this room which test one’s wit and accuracy. A small bar is located at the bottom right corner of the room, containing various meads and spirits. The stairs ascend upwards from here.
Music Room - Brass and Wind instruments, as well as percussion-like objects are at your disposal. A cubicle is included.
Holding Cell - A locked, bare cell. The heavy iron key hangs on a hook right by the door in the music room. Annoyingly, it is not at all soundproofed.
House Academia (Blue):
1F
Scholarly Hallway - A hallway adorned with various diagrams and equations pinned to the walls, depicting all sorts of anatomical oddities and other things you don’t quite understand. A large bookcase sits at the back of the hall, and stairs lead upstairs.
Specimen Room - Various jars containing preserved animals line the shelves that take up much of the room. This room smells rather foul, and the very thought of how bad it would smell if the jars weren’t sealed up makes you weak at the knees.
Classroom - A small auditorium with a large blackboard and long desks, emulating the atmosphere of a university classroom. Chalk and eraser is provided.
Equipment Room - A small room off to the side, containing spiral notebooks, writing utensils, and various surgical equipment, likely for use in dissection. An old plague doctor outfit sits on a mannequin in here too. On the outside of this room is a set of stairs leading upwards.
Teacher’s Lounge - A blend of old and new fixtures and furniture fill this room, including comfortable chairs, a couch, a coffee table, and a rudimentary kitchen. The new hot plate, toaster oven, and coffee machine all hint that perhaps this room was used as a breakroom by the restoration crew as well.
House Oliva (Green):
1F
Workshop - A large room containing workbenches and woodworking tools, along with well, wood. The tools are certainly nothing modern, but in spectacular condition, and easy enough to understand and use.
Greenhouse - Once a simple Victorian era garden, now repurposed into a modern era greenhouse to grow greens and various other plants.
Kitchen- State of the art for its time, this kitchen contains giant kettle pots, cooking cauldrons, pans and all sorts of Kitchen equipment you may or may not know of. The kitchen has been modernized to prevent poisoning from the use of very old kitchen equipment, although said equipment can be found in a separate pantry.
Dining Hall - A long table dominates the scene, with candelabras, spice containers, utensils and plates.
Chapel- Located at the back of the mansion, a separate chapel can be found, surrounded by small patches of flowers and arches, with a pathway linking both buildings together. Inside is a small chapel with eight long benches, a pedestal and various stained glasses of religious figures and scenes.
Trip's Pad (Pink):
1F
Waiting Room - A small lobby sits just inside the door of this portable unit, which features a couple pink and green chairs to sit in, alongside with an arcade machine. The machine looks new, and does not yet feature any high scores.
??? - The door from the Waiting Room to this room is locked tight with a high-tech password lock. Trip swears up and down that this room was like this when he showed up to the island, and he has no idea what the password is.
Trip’s Office - An extremely disorganized office, with a large desk in the middle. Pizza boxes are tossed around the room, and behind the desk sits a hideous pink and green gamer chair. In the corner, a strange computer terminal sits with a login screen open. On the desk in a small glass display case is a large shard of black crystal. Your head hurts when you look at it.
Bedroom - Trip’s bedroom. All that’s in here is a bed, dressed with his usual eye-torture color scheme. It is much cleaner than the office though, and the bed is quite comfortable.
Bathroom - The one single working bathroom on the island. No deer allowed.
Outdoor Areas:
Garden - Located between houses Minerva and Bishop, the Garden was once House Oliva’s own. Ever since the creation of the Greenhouse, the Garden’s contents are now placed here. Various flowers that are well tended to can be found there. Makes for a beautiful sight. Benches and brick roads galore.
Shed - Garden equipment, what else could you ask for?
Fountain - Located at the center of it all, the Fountain’s statue is a Goose, head held high, spouting water from its beak. Throw coins in the water for a wish!
Bonfire - At the edge of the island, behind a Bonfire can be found for everyone to sit down and enjoy a good fire, perhaps some smores as well. Located between houses Academia and Oliva.
Bathroom - There isn’t any due to the lack of a sewage system, but you live on an island! Go do your business at the shore.
Room Descriptions
House Bishop (Red):
2F
Trophy Room - Various trophies, paintings and displays are located within this large room. Although the objects feel like they’ve been forged rather than obtained, an air of pride and prestige is instilled within the room. There is an open space in the center, overlooking the Foyer and surrounded by a railing. The chandelier hangs down from here, support rope disappearing into the ceiling.
Mirror Hall - A hall possessing a large, ornate mirror on the outer wall, polished to perfection. A rope descends from a small slot in the ceiling, pulled taut and attached to a mounted winch on the wall opposite the mirror.
Luxury Bedroom - A massive four-poster bed dominates this room, surrounded by silk curtains. A wardrobe sits against the wall, and a chest sits at the foot of the bed. The chest appears to be locked, requiring a key to open.
Hall of Swords - A hallway with several swords of varying shapes and sizes mounted on the wall. Some are flawless and heavily decorated, while others are battle-worn and practical. There is one suit of armor as well, but it appears to have been crafted for decoration, rather than actual use.
Leader’s Bureau - Office of the island’s leader, Gareth. Small book shelves and portraits of unknown age adorn the room’s otherwise dull look.
House Minerva (Yellow):
2F
Poison Room - Shelving units filled with various lethal poisons cover the walls of this room. Despite their age, the labels on the bottles are not faded at all.
Bust Hallway - On one end of the hallway, a majestic painting of an old lighthouse sits upon the wall. The hallway itself contains a few stone busts, depicting people you don’t really recognize.
Seafarer’s Bedroom - Upon entering this bedroom, you will quickly notice that it is made up to resemble the cabin of an old pirate ship. A thick dresser sits on the side of the room opposite the bed, and to the side, a desk overlooks the window to the courtyard. Overtop of the bed’s headboard sits a large ship’s wheel.
Arts and Crafts - A room containing two painting easels and a crafting bench. All the creative materials you could ask for are strewn around the room, including paints, pencils, brushes, fabric of many colors, and a sewing machine.
House Academia (Blue):
2F
Unfinished Hall - A half-painted hallway still partially held up by modern scaffolding supports. Paint rollers, trays, and buckets of blue paint lie around haphazardly, and it appears that they were abandoned in the middle of the job. The supports and roof quiver unsteadily as you walk.
Study - Researcher Edward’s personal headquarters for studying, research, writing and possibly sleeping at the desk. Bookshelves are filled with various works, essays and various documents.
Alchemy Lab - Various bottles, vials and potentially unknown liquids and materials infest the room. Odors trapped in this room are unlike anything you’ve ever smelled, but some have said they get used to it after prolonged exposure.
Chemistry Lab - Much like the alchemy lab, but without the mess and odors. Liquids, solids and compounds are found, labeled and well organized. Additionally, unlike its room sibling, the room has been modernized to facilitate research. There is a button labeled “Seal” on the wall facing the Airtight Room.
Study - Researcher Edward’s personal headquarters for studying, research, writing and possibly sleeping at the desk. Bookshelves are filled with various works, essays and various documents.
Airtight Room - Seemingly used to test the effects of gasses in a vacuum, this room can be accessed by both the stairs from outside 1F and the Chemistry lab. Pressing the “Seal” button in the Chemistry Lab instantly seals the room, locking both the door to the Chemistry Lab and the Stairs through an unknown clockwork mechanism.
House Oliva (Green):
2F
Reading Room - A quiet room where the stairs emerge from the first floor. A desk sits against the wall with an open, empty journal and a quill to write with. There is an inkwell next to it, surprisingly not dried up at all.
Laundry - What used to be an old-fashioned laundry room with washboards and basins has been modernized, utilizing the proximity of the island’s well for a semblance of running water. The machines will clean your clothes, but they take a while, and they tend to rattle the house as they operate. Various cleaning supplies are located here, both ancient and new.
Library - Manuscripts, essays, books and stories. Most older era writings can be generally found here. The shelves not attached to the wall are on wheels, and they will roll if pushed. They lack brakes however, so do be careful.
Overlook Patio - A patio overlooking the backyard, garden, and chapel. A ladder sits here, long enough to reach the ground from here, if you cared to set it up.
Room Descriptions
Basement Rooms:
Passageway - A smuggling tunnel between House Bishop and House Minerva. Can be entered through the paintings in House Minerva, and from the Wine Storage in House Bishop. Several casks and crates of wine sit against the walls. A doorway here leads to the Water Control Room.
Water Control - A room lined with piping. Five tanks, labeled House Minerva, House Oliva, House Academia, Media Group Portable Structure, and Fountain each seem to supply water to the structures on the island. The terminal in the middle can control the flow.
Underground Pier - A modern pier built into the side of the cliff. It seems to be abandoned, with no boat in sight, but two crates are stacked on one side of it. A table is on the other side, with a clipboard and old key sitting on top.
Morning. A bright and sunny one, but the mood of the island suggests otherwise. If emotions can determine weather, then the island would be engulfed in storm clouds. Inside the holding cells, Percy gets thrown into the cell, next to what would be called Nathan's bedroom. Gordon wipes his hands on his pants, as if he had touched some greasy food. Angus looks in disgust.
"You're quite the mockit, Gordon."
"I'm sorry?"
"Dirty. You're a dirty man."
"Hand me a handkerchief if you have one, then."
Angus' head turns to Percy's. The smith sighs quietly.
"You've forgot i-"
"A'ight, lad, you've caused quite the commotion over there and, as the people of House Bishop, we've got to deal with ye. Now, don't think of this as punishment, alright?"
Percy is perplexed by the statement. He is conscious, but the hit he's been dealt still rings inside his head.
"I understand far less of what you mean than what you understand of my pain, seer. If you could, please be clear."
A smile comes off of Angus' face, one that is far too obvious of being malicious.
"Consider this a blessing and a thanks from us. No need to pray for a god, or the woman you stalk."
---
In the kitchen. François is assisted by Alisa and Aileen, who are preparing a breakfast using fresh ingredients, plucked from the garden. Only utensils and tools are heard for a while, but Aileen eventually breaks the silence.
"I say, how did these ingredients manage to grow so quickly?"
Alisa, usually annoyed by the presence of the Bishop's woman, reads the air from her words. In other circumstances, she'd plug her ears, but this time, a reluctant agreement is in order.
"You should know about that garden boy. Tomas is his name, remember him?"
"I do, but it is not like I see him at all. He isolates himself to his own work."
"That is what I mean! The man does weird things to his plants, you know? I've seen him tend to the crops. Whatever he does to them, I do not like it one bit!"
"What do you mean? Is he sabotaging our only source of sustenance?"
François, who was focused on his recipes, heard the few words coming out of Aileen's mouth. He gently puts down his knife on the counter.
"Non, I do not think that is it. The crops he gives to us are sublime! The taste is what you would expect from restaurants, as well. I must agree with the growth of these plants, however. It is fascinating that they come back to us in so little time..."
Silence, and then they go back to their breakfast preparation. Aileen is still disconcerted by some of her thoughts, one of which she decides to blurt out.
"If the plants do grow that quickly, we won't have to worry much about food. However, has nobody considered the lack of meat on this island?"
"All the better for trying out new recipes." Quickly replies the chef, "Besides, we can catch some fish around here, non?"