Mystery Manor - Chapter One

[Erdbeereis]

I wonder where is our host.

I have been wondering the same thing...

Maybe he took Mr. Sinclair's idea and is having trouble "finishing".

I hope your throat feels better soon Dermot! If this manor has a good kitchen I'll make you some of my special tomato/fish sauce soup, that always clears up my sinuses.

[WhiteFang]

Maybe he's hiding under one of these floor tiles. I'll lift up this tile.

Let me give you a hand.

[Hinckley]

While you guys check that tile, I'll pick up this tile...

[Erdbeereis]

And I'll lift up the tile in the upper left corner.

I hear dragons like to hide under things...

[Dragonator]

(OOC: Just a small note on game etiquette, as some of you appear to be a little confused. Usually I will let the first person to say they want to move on lead the group, and the group will stop whenever somebody wants to take a closer look at something. If you have a question about something then feel free to voice it out loud and you might get an answer. Once you are satisfied you have found everything you can, somebody may suggest to move on, and so it will continue. Also remember that I don't have my computer at the moment and that I'm not online all the time, so please bear with me. Thanks.)

Anthony walks over to the suit of armour to take a closer look. He pulls on the arms, which causes the helmet to fall off and land on his foot. No other effects are observed. Meanwhile Miss Sandy looks suspiciously at the wooden panels, however she cannot see anything out of the ordinary, it appears to be just a wooden panel.

Some of the party suggest proceeding up the stairs, however they soon decide that they would rather stay as a group, not wanting to get lost in the old house. They waited as some of the others had a look around.

Oh, Sir Dragonator, could you be kind enough to finally tell us exactly what we are investigating here?

An excellent question my dear Miss Sandy, and one that deserves an answer. This morning Lord Chester failed to turn up to a meeting at a small coffee shop in town, and as he is usually the punctually sort, I and my colleagues came to the conclusion that something dreadful must have happened to him (as you do). We are here to find out exactly what has happened. I fear he may be dead... or worse. :pir-skull:

I'll Try to open the wooden door.

Chef walks over to the door and tries to open it. It is unfortunately locked. The room inside appears dark, however you can smell the strong aromas of baking from within.

I'd like to examine the threshold area of the door more closely.

Michael moves into the small corridor and looks up. A shaft of light is filtering down through a small skylight that goes up to the roof. You cannot see anything suspicious.

Having had some experience with the safe handling of sharp objects, I think I'll remove the weapon from the armour and give it a closer inspection.

Peter steps past Anthony who is busy tending to his foot, and removes the sword. He then hefts it in a familiar manor. Looking at it shows that it is a combat sword, with some small ornamentation around the hilt, the sort an officer or knight might carry.

Perhaps somebody who knows a bit about history could tell as more about this armour?

We were waiting outside so long I have to use the bathroom. I'll just urinate in the corner here...

Max walks over to a corner and unzips. A slight breeze is felt moving through the room, and the chandelier shakes slightly. An angry moan is thought to be heard. Suddenly reconsidering his actions, Max quickly moves back towards the group.

It would be a bad idea to offend the spirits of this manor, don't you think? I'm sure we can find a bathroom for you a little later.

(OOC: Man you guys are fast! Give me a second to catch up! )

Some of the group start trying to pry up the floor tiles, but only succeed in bruising their knuckles.

If you guys could please stop tearing the house apart, I would greatly appreciate it. We are guests remember.

Dr. Phil takes a look at Antony's foot, but it does not appear to be broken, only bruised. As he stands up, he notices that the base of the statue had moved slightly; apparently it is not fixed to the floor.

[WhiteFang]

Some of the group start trying to pry up the floor tiles, but only succeed in bruising their knuckles.

Dermot, it seemed our host is getting a little annoyed by our itchy fingers. Let's join the rest.

[SirNadroj]

Someone give me a hand - let me get up on someone's shoulders, then climb and sit on top of the chandelier. Perhaps I'll be able to see something different from up there. A different perspective is a good thing.

[Scouty]

I'll just wait until we all finish up and go upstairs. I want to see if the floor is heated up there.

[Erdbeereis]

That armor still seems suspicious to me...

I think I'll Move the base to the side.

[Hinckley]

When we do stuff, that guy says things. That's awesome. I would like to look inside the helmet that fell on Anthony's foot.

[Shadows]

Peter steps past Anthony who is busy tending to his foot, and removes the sword. He then hefts it in a familiar manor.

That's odd... how can I heft it in a familiar manor when this manor isn't in my family? What? No one has a sense of humour here...

Max walks over to a corner and unzips. A slight breeze is felt moving through the room, and the chandelier shakes slightly.

Max will henceforth be known as drafty-pants.

Some of the group start trying to pry up the floor tiles, but only succeed in bruising their knuckles.

This reminds me of something, though I can't come up with what it is.

> INVENTORY

You are carrying:

Breath mints

Legal papers

A leaflet

A clove of garlic

A matchbook

A pen

Oh, I forgot about that! I found it in the mailbox out front. Perhaps I should read it now.

Congratulations!

You are the privileged owner of a genuine ZORK: The Great

Underground Empire, a self-contained and self-maintaining

universe. If used and maintained in accordance with normal

operating practices for small universes, ZORK will provide many

months of trouble-free operation.

Hmmm...

If that sword starts glowing blue, I'm going to become concerned.

*Time Passes*

[Dragonator]

Newspaper Article

Chef Fredrick walks over to the armour and carefully moves aside the base. Behind the armour he finds a screwed up piece of paper which must have fallen behind it. Unfolding it, he finds that it is a newspaper article from the Dratos Times. The date on it is 3rd July 1992. It reads as follows:

New Lord of the Manor

With the passing of Lord Samuel Dracus, the controversial old manor known as Dragon's Retreat has found a new owner in his son, Chester Dracus, now lord of the manor.

Lord Chester is a well known businessman who has made a fortune in the financial business, and although still grieving for the death of his father, he says that he is "looking forward to taking up [his] position as the new Lord".

The manor, located in a small valley north of Dratos, has been for centuries a centre of speculation for the community due to the rumours that surround its construction. It is a believed that the old mansion contains many hidden secrets, and it is even rumoured that a vast treasure is hidden somewhere within the confines of its walls. Many eager treasure hunters have through the centuries tried and failed to find this treasure, although most never make it beyond the doors of the private residence. Other, more sinister rumours, talk of a dreadful curse that is over the house, one of death and evil.

When asked if he was fearful of the Dragons Curse, Lord Chester replied, "why should I be afraid of some piece of folklore? I'm sure that the untimely deaths of all the previous Lords of the manor each have a logical explanation, and there is most certainly no supernatural intervention." Despite his words, most people still feel that the manor has bad luck seeping from it's walls, and so it is mostly left alone, with only the bravest of treasure hunters attempting to annoy the Lord. Egor, the butler of the manor, told the Times that " [hith] previouth mathter wath of exthellent health before he died. Who knowth what thingth can happen behind thethe wallth...". Our reporter did not ask to much else after that.

The true question is, is there any truth in the rumours surrounding Dragon's Retreat? Is there a large treasure hidden somewhere within? And what of the other, more sinister rumours? A local farmer spoke to us about a terrible thing he saw a number of years ago, informing the Times of a "terrible evil" that lurks beneath the keep. "Don't go near that place!" he said, "it's evil I tell you, evil!"

Whether there is any...

The rest of the article is missing.

When we do stuff, that guy says things. That's awesome. I would like to look inside the helmet that fell on Anthony's foot.

Max walks over and picks up the old helmet. He peers inside. There is nothing unusual to be seen, but... is that... movement? Suddenly a large spider jumps out and lands on his face. The unfortunate actor screams and drops the helmet, which by some unlucky coincidence lands on his foot, and prances around the room shouting "get it off, please, get it off!!". The spider, clearly frightened, jumps away and crawls into a corner.

(OOC: It should be noted that you are not required to put your actions in bold, I'll still see them if you don't.)

[Corvus]

You should have used the armour. As I recall, in the Legend of Mystery Castle there was a soldier hiding in one of those for several days and he too found a need for relief. Apparently, traditionally constructed European medieval armour is well suited for such a purpose, and offers the additional privacy we all appreciate.

Nooooo! Leave it! It's rare! It's antique! It's fascinating anditdoesnotneedyourwasteinit!

Perhaps somebody who knows a bit about history could tell as more about this armour?

Why certainly (knyuk, knyuk, knyuk), good sir.

This seems to be a piece of armor from an old forgotten secret society called the Red Dragon, in the 14th Century, I'm fairly sure. Apparently, it was a time of military activity in the kingdom, and led to a few breakthroughs in armor technology. I think that this armor could from the time of the great dragon Ragnir the Mighty-notice the small red dragon emblazoned on the right shoulder plate.

Fascinating, isn't it?

*continues to stare and stare at the armor*

[Erdbeereis]

Holy burgundy, I knew that armor had something odd about it!

It does seem like this manor holds more than dust... I say we proceed up the stairs.

[Scouty]

Yes, very fascinating. I agree with Chef on going upstairs now.

We should put things back (within reason of course). Like the armor.

[Sir Dillon]

Hmm. That article is a bit disturbing... Does anyone know what happened to the butler?

Can we take apart the suit of armor and search through it?

[Corvus]

We should put things back (within reason of course). Like the armor.

Yes. We can't let the actor relieve himself in it.

Can we take apart the suit of armor and search through it?

I suppose... You'd better let me do it. That suit of armor is priceless and worth more than everything you own.

[Hinckley]

Yes. We can't let the actor relieve himself in it.

The actor has a name, thank you. And I wasn't planning on relieving myself in it, thank you...duh.

[Corvus]

The actor has a name, thank you. And I wasn't planning on relieving myself in it, thank you...duh.

Sorry Mr. Sinclaire. I'm a bit paranoid after being with University students for so long. *Looks at Dermot >>*

[Sir Dillon]

I suppose... You'd better let me do it. That suit of armor is priceless and worth more than everything you own.

That's a presumptuous thing to say, isn't it? I would be surprised if that's worth more than everything I own, especially since this one is just sitting in the hallway.

That being said, your point is taken, and if we take it apart, I do not mind if you do it.

Could we try to use the sword to open the door, or would that be a bad idea considering its worth?

[Dragonator]

Hmm. That article is a bit disturbing... Does anyone know what happened to the butler?

Indeed I do, he passed away in his sleep a few weeks after that article was published. Lord Chester has had two butlers since then, the first wasn't very good. Talking of the servants, I wonder where they are?

Can we take apart the suit of armor and search through it?

Michael goes to help John re-assemble the armour, with Dr. Grimsworth watching very closely to make sure they don't damage anything. Michael takes the chance to have a good look at it piece by piece. You do not find anything out of the ordinary.

Now that everyone had had a good look around the foyer, it is agreed that the detectives should head upstairs, prompted by the chef. The group moves up into a short hallway not to dissimilar in appearance from the foyer, lit by a decidedly brighter chandelier of cut crystal. The walls are again paneled with wood, two panels on each side, and each alcove holding another suit of armour. Between the panels on both sides of the hall are an identical set of tall wooden doors (One of the west wall and one on the east). A much larger pair of doors, gilded and inlaid with precious gems and ivory, stands at the end of the corridor. The only other piece of furniture worth noting is a small wooden table in the north-western corner of the hallway. It also appears that there is no underfloor heating up on the first floor.

(Note: If you ever want to return to a previous room to re-examine something, just say where you want to return to.)

[Scouty]

Interesting that there is no under-floor heating on the upper floor. It mus be something below the first floor to make it nice and warm. Come to think about it, my feet are getting cold!

Hmm, interesting table, I think I'm going to go ahead to check under the table top.

[WhiteFang]

Another statue with an armor. Let me take a closer look at its armor plate by the side, to see if there is any stuff hiding beneath it.

[Erdbeereis]

It was lucky last time, so I'll try to move the base of the armor.

I do hope we get to a heated area soon, the cold is making my moustache crinkly...

[Shadows]

A much larger pair of doors, gilded and inlaid with precious gems and ivory, stands at the end of the corridor.

Ah, these are some serious doors. I think I'll head over there and inspect them closely, checking to see if they are locked and evaluating the quality of the gems and craftsmanship.