Berkeley's Phantasmagoria

[COPIRIGHTO]

>"How old is this place?"

[Serela]

>Is the fireplace lit?

>Nope.

>"How old is this place?"

>All three of your companions seem to be at a loss, for this question. "All the buildings in Wintervale have been here since before I can remember." says Veronica, and Rinoa agrees with her.

[Hello Purvis]

>Go knock on the door. Give it about 15 seconds, knock again. Repeat for the space of a minute.
>If there are no signs of anyone coming by that point, open the door and invite self in.

[Serela]

>Go knock on the door. Give it about 15 seconds, knock again. Repeat for the space of a minute.
>If there are no signs of anyone coming by that point, open the door and invite self in.

>You know on the door, wait awhile... knock again... no answer. After this, you enter, Veronica and the others following you inside. You find yourself inside the living room you saw from the window.
>There is an entrance to another room, and there are stairs going up.

[COPIRIGHTO]

>"So, whatever we do, don't split up."
>Start with another room

[Serela]

>"So, whatever we do, don't split up."
>Start with another room

>Veronica nods, while Dotsy starts looking really scared, and turns back to look at the door. Well, fairies will be fairies. Rinoa just seems to be looking around in a vacantly indiscriminate fashion.
>You enter the room connected to the living room. It seems to be a room for cooking and dining; there is a table with chairs and an empty vase on it, and many cabinets and drawers on one side of the room.
>There does not seem to be any exits besides from where you entered.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Are you okay, Dotsy? Don't worry, we're here with you."
>Looking around for signs of people being here recently.
>"Do you still feel anything, Rinoa?"
>Palm the orb again.

[Serela]

>"Are you okay, Dotsy? Don't worry, we're here with you."
>Looking around for signs of people being here recently.
>"Do you still feel anything, Rinoa?"
>Palm the orb again.

>She calms down. "Yeah, I've got all these people to protect me! Yaaay~!"
>The rooms look well kept and clean. You can't actually tell if someone has been here recently, though; there isn't any telltale signs.
>"Yes", says Rinoa. "I still feel something nearby. I'm pretty sure from inside this house..."
>You put your palm on the Orb. It feels smooth, and cool to the touch.

[Hello Purvis]

>Call out, "Hello? Anyone here? We're not going to hurt you or anything. I know we look a bit scary, but we don't mean any harm."
>Search about a bit more. There is probably a sleeping area to be found, at least.

[Serela]

>Call out, "Hello? Anyone here? We're not going to hurt you or anything. I know we look a bit scary, but we don't mean any harm."
>Search about a bit more. There is probably a sleeping area to be found, at least.

>There isn't a response.
>You look inside the cabinets. There is all kinds of foods and strange ingredients inside; perhaps some of this stuff is for magical purposes, and not eating.
>Everywhere else on the first floor is... well, nothing special. So, you go upstairs.
>You are now in a hallway on the second floor. There are three doors along it. Come to think of it, this house seems very similar to yours! It's much less technologically advanced, of course, but, other then that...

[Hello Purvis]

>Check where our room would be.

[Serela]

>Check where our room would be.

>You open the door at the end of the hallway. The room you enter; it looks a lot like your room. Except, it's emptier. All that is here is a bare bed, dresser, and closet door, and a window looking outside.
>Regardless, it looks like it's been quite lived in. Whoever used to have this as their bedroom, though... they seem to have taken all their stuff and left; even the doorknob.

[Hello Purvis]

>Moment of silence trying to process the possible recursion.
>"Who lived here again?"
>Check the closet; manipulate open the door by messing with the tumblers with the screwdriver if needs be.
>Presuming nothing shocking in closet, check other rooms.

[Serela]

>Moment of silence trying to process the possible recursion.
>"Who lived here again?"
>Check the closet; manipulate open the door by messing with the tumblers with the screwdriver if needs be.
>Presuming nothing shocking in closet, check other rooms.

>You spend a moment trying to process something in your mind. Unfortunately, I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to process, but that's just me.
>As you turn around, you realize only Rinoa is with you; you can hear Veronica and Dotsy downstairs though, and it doesn't sound like anything is wrong.
>"I think she said... someone named Stella used to live here?" says Rinoa, to answer your question.
>You open the closet door. It isn't hard, since where a doorknob should be, there is simply an open hole. Inside the closet is... nothing. Just bare walls, and a bar to hang clotheshangers on.
>You and Rinoa move on to a different room; you check the closer room, which is where the bathroom would be in your house. Inside, you see lots of boxes. It seems that this room is being used for storage.

[Hello Purvis]

>Mutter, "Thought I said don't split up..."
>Go see what Dotsy and Veronica are up to.

[Serela]

>Mutter, "Thought I said don't split up..."
>Go see what Dotsy and Veronica are up to.

>Bleh, I know right?
>You head back downstairs. You see Veronica consoling Dotsy, who is in the couch in the fetal position.

[COPIRIGHTO]

>"What happened?"

[Serela]

>"What happened?"

>Veronica opens her mouth to speak, but is cut off by a yell from Dotsy; "There's something really bad in this town!". After her yell she goes back to hyperventilating, rocking back and forth frantically on the couch.
>Rinoa frowns. "Maybe we should hurry up..."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I don't know if we're going to find anything else... I've looked around a bit upstairs, and haven't found anyone. Let's finish up looking around here, and then get out. Alright, Dotsy?"

[Serela]

>"I don't know if we're going to find anything else... I've looked around a bit upstairs, and haven't found anyone. Let's finish up looking around here, and then get out. Alright, Dotsy?"

>She doesn't respond, but she seems to be freaking out less. Veronica seems to be getting worried too, as she looks out the window.
>Rinoa heads back up the stairs. It bothers you how she just floats up steadily; her legs move, but she doesn't bob up and down like a normal person would. It's a perfectly smooth, unhumanly motion.

[Kasu]

> Scour the house one more time.

[Hello Purvis]

>The rooms we haven't checked yet, looking for signs of habitation, more similarities to home, or just general crazy shit.
>Ponder if there was a self analogue here, and perhaps a mom analogue?

[Serela]

> Scour the house one more time.

>The rooms we haven't checked yet, looking for signs of habitation, more similarities to home, or just general crazy shit.
>Ponder if there was a self analogue here, and perhaps a mom analogue?

>You decide to go up the stairs after Rinoa to finish checking the house. As you reach the top of the stairs, you open and enter the first room in the hallway; the only one you haven't checked. This is where your mother's bedroom is.
>As you enter, the first thing you notice is a very old woman sleeping in a bed. Her face is full of wrinkles, but her white hair doesn't look too bad for what her age seems to be. She looks like a kindly old grandmother, really. She doesn't seem to wake up as you enter, but you can tell from her breathing that she isn't dead.
>What.

[Hello Purvis]

>Stand there and make the =I face for a moment.
>Knock on the doorframe to waken her and let her know she has guests.

[Serela]

>Stand there and make the =I face for a moment.
>Knock on the doorframe to waken her and let her know she has guests.

>=I
>You knock on the doorframe, and... she keeps sleeping. So you knock harder, and she opens her eyes. She yawns and stretches a bit, before sitting up and beginning to casually speak. "Hmm, an outsider and a spirit girl... I must say, that sure is something to wake up to."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Um...hello. Uh. Sorry to break in. You know what happened outside, right?"

[Serela]

>"Um...hello. Uh. Sorry to break in. You know what happened outside, right?"

>The crypt keeper old woman nods her head, before saying "Mmm, but what I don't know, is why you're here."

[Hello Purvis]

>The crypt keeper old woman nods her head, before saying "Mmm, but what I don't know, is why you're here."

>This is giving some nasty fight or flight impulses.
>"I'm Berkeley. I'm new here. Um, people died outside, violently. And the thing keeping your town from being permanent winter is gone. That seems like kinda a problem... Aren't you a little worried about that?"

[Serela]

>This is giving some nasty fight or flight impulses.
>"I'm Berkeley. I'm new here. Um, people died outside, violently. And the thing keeping your town from being permanent winter is gone. That seems like kinda a problem... Aren't you a little worried about that?"

>She frowns sadly. "Well, there isn't much use grieving about it. At my age, I might give myself some heart complications like that, mmm? You seem to have gotten to my house safely, though; do you think you could help an old lady get out of this place while she can?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Oh hell, what if she did it? But...what if she didn't.
>Crap.
>"I suppose we could. What's your name, miss?"
>Look around the room causally, try to find some hint that she's the one behind all this. Odd magic-looking stuff and the like.