LG 111 - Night 6: Let the Gods of Luck and Chance Decide

[Araris Valerian he/him]

Night 6: Let the Gods of Luck and Chance Decide

Verna and Variel were quick to side against Mr. Monopoly. Why, they argued, should someone who planned to bulldoze the House be allowed to escape?

"Wait a minute? The House has killed 10 people so far in the last few days! And those are only the ones we know about. Plus the butler makes at least 11, since I haven't seen him since the first night, so he's probably a goner as well."

Liam felt like he was stating the obvious, but he kept going.

"The first thing I will do when I get out of here is to tear the place down. You two are insane for thinking off doing anything else!"

The two pairs stared at each other across the entryway, at an impasse. Neither shaky alliance had any deadly to hand, and they seemed fairly matched in physical ability. Eventually, unable to take the tension, Mr. Monopoly dashed toward Variel, brandishing his walking cane as if it were a quarterstaff. As he reached the rug covering the middle of the hall, his left foot caught the carpet's edge and he tripped, tumbling to the floor. Variel, who had been bracing himself for the attack, now rushed forward, but before he struck, he noticed that Mr. Monopoly was unnaturally still. And... that his neck was at an extreme angle to the rest of his body. 

Liam took the brief moment of distraction to dash back into the depths of the House.

---

Mr. Monopoly @___ has been executed! He was an Innocent Explorer.

Night 6 has begun, and will end at 8PM on Wednesday, May 6.

Barring a successful protect, the game will end tonight, so get any final RP in, and let me know if you have requests for the final writeup (which may include your death).

Vote Count:
Striker (2): Conure, ___
___ (2): Striker, Doc

Player List:

Spoiler

1. ___ as Mr. Monopoly, who is looking to redevelop the House - Innocent Explorer

2. Through the Living Wahr as Warren the Wisp-followed Innocent Explorer

3. Fizz9 as Patrick, a friendly neighborhood smith Innocent Explorer

4. Through the Living Star as Mabel, who is secretly not a grouch Innocent Explorer

5. Akimikoisthecutest as Talasin the Journalist Innocent Explorer

6. Qianweilian as Randal Boar, who might be really lost - Innocent Explorer with an Aviar

7. @Doc12 as Verna, a writer enamored by the House

8. Mist. as Brax Innocent Explorer

9. Frozen Mint as Luminair, a disciple of Aralis Innocent Explorer

10. Divergent as Archie Innocent Explorer and proto-radiant

11. Miss Fallen as K. Tims, yo-yo artist extraordinaire - Innocent Explorer

12. @Conure1243 as Liam

13. @StrikerEZ as Variel the dark and funky

14. Verdance as Harley, a secretary with a detective complex - Innocent Explorer

 

[StrikerEZ he/him]

Oh hey. I’m alive. And I don’t even have to have a character arc about whether or not to die a hero or live a villain.

Lame.

[Doc12]

Verna sits in the middle of the grand staircase, shuffling Brax's deck of cards.

Variel stalked the grand hall, searching for traces of the gun they believed Monopoly had held. Liam was nowhere to be seen, having darted off into the depth of the house. The night was almost over. Dawn drew near, and with it the house unlocking. 

What a disappointment the house had been. 

No revelations. No invitations into the unearthly. No escape from the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, the heartaches and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to. 

Just a parade of people she had grown close to, dying one after another, victim after victim. Faces flashing in her memory. Proud, ashamed, terrified, gone. 

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted-
On this home by Horror haunted- tell me truly, I implore-
Is there- is there balm in Gilead? - tell me- tell me, I implore!"
                 Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

From the deck, she drew her final card. A golden, ornate Key. 

She almost laughed. Yes. A Key. In a matter of hours the house would unlock, and she would walk out of it a different woman. She had come in yearning for so much. She would leave with her spirits crushed. Even in the most eldritch and inhuman of places, human selfishness and death permeated all. 

"How can you be so sure you'll survive?" Variel asked. "Liam might shoot any of us."

From her pockets, Verna drew out a tiny, delicate glass butterfly. "A gift." She smiled sadly. "Some generosity, whether from the butler himself, or the house acting through him. It will shield me from a single shot. You see? I'm meant to survive this night, no matter what." 

"I'd forgotten about the gift," Variel murmured. 

"Well, take heart," Verna said softly. "Hero at heart, are you not? You too will live on, your soul pure and untouched, even if your body dies tonight. Not all have been so privileged."

Variel scoffed. "I'd very much prefer to stay alive, hero's soul or not."

"I am not sure." Verna said. "I might leave the house tomorrow. But I do believe some part of me will remain trapped here... forever, along with all the people I've lost."

So saying, she stood. "I am going to find a bedchamber to spend my last night in the house in comfort..." She tipped her head towards Variel. "Care to join me?"

Edited May 6 by Doc12

[Conure1243 He/Him]

Liam stirred uneasily.

Alone.

Why did he let himself be alone?

A tear fell. He knew why. He was a killer. He was scared. He didn't want to die.

So he killed someone.

But where did that get him?

Here. Alone. In a house he never should have entered.

And what for? He didn't even know anymore.

All he knew was the darkness...

[coco.pudding she/they]

30 Minutes Remain!

If you want anything specific to be in the write up, speak now. 

[Doc12]

Verna could hear them. 

Brax, murmuring about the Void card. Patrick, crying about his betrayal. K, terrified in the dark. Even Liam, not yet dead, but already ensnared, asking himself why he gave up his soul. She didn't hear Mabel. Mabel was the only one who had resisted. 

And the house. Now it chose to speak to her, on the verge of letting her go. Now it whispered to her sweet nothings, a thousand promises. It would open itself up to her, it would keep her and her friends together. She wouldn't need to be out among humans again, she would be free.

Smoke wisped from the weapon, from her wrist all the way up her arm. 

Verna glided through endless corridors and through countless doors, smoke billowing behind her. 

What an irony. To leave the house alive, she would stake a part of herself to it forever. Tragic, yet fitting. There was no escape from human selfishness, really. 

She could have done the right thing. Refused to fire. Then she would die, but Variel and Liam would live. Still. Liam was a killer. And she would just be dead. Untainted of soul, but dead and kept by the house regardless. It all came back to selfishness, in the end. 

Variel would live. His soul remained untouched, though Verna privately thought it was more for lack of temptation than any real strength of will. Still. He alone would escape free. Most of Verna would leave with him. Her shadow would remain.

She wondered if Mabel was still free. In refusing to fire the weapon, had her soul ascended beyond the grasp of the house? Verna hoped so. Mabel deserved to be among the stars. 

Too late for the rest of them. The innocents, killed by the house. The killers, kept by the house. 

Finally, Verna entered a dark room, found her target for tonight. Liam had collapsed in a comfortable chair, exhausted from his run. He was no longer running. 

Under her veil, a sad smile. In her hand, the smoking gun. 

"Welcome home," she said. 

Edited May 7 by Doc12

[Araris Valerian he/him]

The game has ended! Stay tuned for the aftermath!