Haunted House Archives - 2020

[Haunted House]

The very first year the Haunted House appeared, a few brave souls entered to discover what might be within. These are their stories.

[Haunted House]

ANYA

As you enter, the door slams shut behind you, and you find yourself inexplicably… Alone. No matter how hard you try, it won’t open, and nobody responds to any cries for help. Alas!


Looking around the room reveals it to be a library with a laboratory setup on a large table. Five vials sit in a rack, all seemingly filled with different liquids. Nearby is a scale with a weight affixed to one of the plates, perpetually tipped. Forefront on the table, though, is an open book with beautiful scrolling on the pages. You can’t quite read what it says...There is a wardrobe near the entrance you came in, tall and dark and dusty. A fireplace crackles invitingly, and shelves upon shelves of books line the walls around the room. On the other side of the room is another door, with three square slots that look like they are missing something. Strange!

What will you do?

Anya took a three quick steps in to the room before her courage failed her and spun in a slow circle. Every surface was scanned before she moved to the wardrobe without hesitation and opened it.

As soon as the wardrobe opened, a broom tumbled forward. Seems it was used for cleaning supplies.

"Huh" Well, brooms could be useful. She picked it up for now and returned to the center of the room. With a close look to the door, she returned her attention to the work table to see if there was anything square on it.

Broom added to inventory! There seems nothing square on the table. Just vials and tools and the book and a tipped scale.

She squinted at the writing in the book but couldn't make it out. Carefully, very carefully, she held out her left hand and a small flame kindling in her palm. She kept it well away from the page as she tried to make out the writing in the slightly improved light.

The writing seemed... blurred. Hard to read. Like a word at the very tip of your tongue.

"Okay..." she shifted her attention to the rest of the table. She was willing to drink a lot of things, but those vials weren't on the list. Instead, she removed the weight from the scale's plate.

The weight seemed quite fixed to the plate. won't even budge! Perhaps whatever was being weighed was a constant ingredient.

She blew a frustrated breath out of her nose. "I am not drinking those." She moved instead to the door and scanned the bookshelves for square volumes or trinkets.

So many books! It's hard to tell what sort of information they hold... Where to even start?

While she slowly circled the table again she appealed to the house. "Want to send me a hint, maybe? Please?"

A soft giggle, and the vials clink, as if jostled.

She actually laughed. "Of course it's them. Thank you!" She pulled an empty vial towards herself and lifted the first of the liquid filled ones out of the rack, waiting to see if anything reacted to the change in weight.

The vial pulled held a liquid that fizzed pleasantly. The book on the table seemed to ripple a moment, and words became clear on the page.

Again, carefully, she set the vial in to the empty one on the table, propping it upright so it didn't spill. She relit the small light in her palm and leaned over the book to read.

I have finally figured out the perfect flavor profile! It's delicious.

She lifted another vial out with her free hand.

The book's page revealed further words. Probably best not to mix these things. Should I start keeping my experiments separate?

"Yes, you should." She pulled the final three vials out, and deposited all four remaining upright in the large, empty flask where she'd propped the first.

The fizzy vial seemed to fizz harder, and then stopped if she was not touching the vial.

She had a sudden thought and walked across the room quickly. She grabbed the handle to the other door and attempted to open it.


The door did not budge.

"Okay. Good. Not wasting time then." She returned her attention to the book on the table to see if it said anything new.


Aren't you thirsty? Or perhaps curious?

"Which would you recommend?" She asked the book.

Daddy likes my fizzy drinks best.

She raised an eyebrow, biting off a laugh that had an edge of nerves. With a deep breath she lifted the fizzy vial and took a sip.

The fizzy drink was... DELICIOUS. Life changing. Like nothing ever tasted before! Somewhere in the corner of your eye, there is a glow around one of the books on the shelf.

She finished off the vial before replacing it in the rack and retrieving the glowing book.

The book is Alice in Wonderland.

"Well that makes sense." She tried to remember the last time she'd read this. "I have to drink the blue one, right?"
The book shuddered in her hands.

She turned back to the table. Was there a blue potion? There had to be. Did it do anything when she picked it up?

Picking up the blue potion reveals it to be foamy. Again, words appear in the blur on the book's page.

She held off on drinking until the book revealed its message.

The fire’s getting too warm. Something to calm the flame. Indeed... It seemed the library was getting uncomfortably warm.

She drained the second vial, assuming this would reveal the next trick. With a glance towards the fire she scanned the room again.

The fire calmed, and a column of smoke drifted up lazily... the wisp travelling toward the bookcase.

She followed the trail of the smoke, looking for her next clue.

The smoke leads to a book. The spine says Dante's Inferno.

"Oh I like this one." She pulled it off, now talking to the house like an old friend. "I knew a Dante once... he was as macabre as you'd expect. But gorgeous."
She returned to the table, book in hand.

As she pulled, the pages loosen, and a wooden tag falls to the floor with a clatter. it reads "A".

She paused and scooped up the tag. With it in her palm, she leafed through the book to find the loose pages.
With one eye she watched the book on the lab table to see if it had anything to say.

Nothing seemed to change... but the tab itself was seemingly the perfect size and shape for... something... maybe it fit somewhere?

Ah, the door. She crossed the room and held the tab up, assessing it against the empty spots.
When she found a likely one, she slipped the tag in its place.

It fit perfectly!

She smiled in satisfaction before returning to the table. "Ok, what next?"

The first book seemed pushed off the table in response, a tag clattering from the pages. Another clatter of glass.

She picked up the second tag and the book. Cradling the book in one arm, she returned to the door to find this tag's spot.

"G".

"A G", she mused as she looked for the right spot. "Your initials?"

There was a soft giggle, and a clatter of glass.

She looked back at the table. "G? Green?"

No response.

She blew out a other breath and crossed to the table. She put the book down and picked up the vials. "Ok who wants to fizz?"

The vials clattered, and a particularly thick liquid burped once in one of them.

"Ew." She separated that vial out and held it up. "What are you looking for? A book?"

The book on the table shifted again. It is always much easier to pour these things when they’re nice and hot.

"Good thinking," rather than bother with lab equipment, she wrapped her hand firmly around the thick vial. She whispered a short incantation and the flame reignited in her hand, this time secure in her fist and wrapped around the base of the vial.

The thick substance thinned quickly, and there was a soft plip of water from the shelf.

She kept the heat on while she looked for the next hint.

horkety hork — 10/29/2020
Plip. Plip.

The sound made it easy to track down the source of the water drop. "Moby Dick? 10,000 leagues?"

A sweating book read: Cooking With Hilda.

She pulled the next book off the shelf and eased off the heat.

The book stopped sweating immediately, and the sweet smell of molasses came from that vial.

She turned her attention back to the vial. Absently, she shook the book to see if anything came out. "Should I drink this one too?" She asked the house.

A square wooden tag fell out. "H."

Three tags. That was all she needed! She scooped up the third and returned to the door. First she tried them in A G H.

No response.

A H G

No response.

"Oh. Rude." H A G

There is an offended gasp. Is that what you think of me? I thought we were having a good time! I really just wanted to have some company!

The door opens and you are sucked through... Then spit onto the front lawn unceremoniously.

You're not sure where all that saliva came from.

THE END.

[Haunted House]

MAGGIE

As you enter, the door slams shut behind you, and you find yourself inexplicably… Alone. No matter how hard you try, it won’t open, and nobody responds to any cries for help. Alas!


Looking around the room reveals it to be a library with a laboratory setup on a large table. Five vials sit in a rack, all seemingly filled with different liquids. Nearby is a scale with a weight affixed to one of the plates, perpetually tipped. Forefront on the table, though, is an open book with beautiful scrolling on the pages. You can’t quite read what it says...There is a wardrobe near the entrance you came in, tall and dark and dusty. A fireplace crackles invitingly, and shelves upon shelves of books line the walls around the room. On the other side of the room is another door, with three square slots that look like they are missing something. Strange!

What will you do?

Read the book!

The book seems to make no sense. The words are right there... almost readable... But just on the edge of it.

She eyeballed the squared slots to see if they are book sized.

They are not quite book-sized, unless one were to count those tiny cardboard picture books for children... but there seem to be none of those lying around.

She used her gift of faery sight to look for traces of otherworldly beings. As she looked over the other books, she checked for signs of recent use. Less dust on any of them could show if any had been moved or read recently. "Talk to me."

The dust seemed to lay thick over everything. Untouched for so very long. Nobody visits me... Nobody knows what things I once got up to. A shame, I worked so hard... So hard on my discoveries...

"I visit the cemetery at the armory, all the time. I see the lost children." Maggie tried something else. She studied the vials to see if they were corked or not and looked for other vessels to hold liquids. Three slots, two sides of a scale unbalanced, and five vials.

The vials are uncorked, and each holds a different liquid. One is particularly fizzy, another thick and dark. Still another seems to have frosted the glass. The scale seems to have a slot in the middle, but it is shut off. Looking at the right angle reveals a flash of glass within.

She tried fitting a vial into one of the slots in the door she had yet to open.

The glass clinked uselessly against wood. Somewhere, a childish giggle could be heard.

"Ok, kid, I hear you." Maggie chuckled. "Being mean is not a way to get people to come back to see you."

Maggie used various combinations of the vials on the scales to try to get them to balance.

The scales eventually right themselves with much work, and there is a soft click of a mechanism. The slot opens, revealing a stoppered vial within.

She lifted the vial from the center of the scale. "So, what is it you do?" Maggie lifted the vial looked to see what was in it and if it was transparent.

A single scrap of rolled parchment was tucked within.

Maggie carefully pulled the stopper from the vial. Pausing a moment, she waited for any fumes present to dissipate before tipping the vial to let the rolled parchment fall out..

The parchment fell to the table, and unfurled. It simply said Metrics and you: A Guide.
Perhaps it was the name of a book.

One brow furrowed. "Ok... Mr. Dewey, let's see if your system is used here." Maggie checked the large book's cover first to see if the title was readable and matched that name before moving on to the other shelves. She also used her abilities as a polyglot to translate some of the titles into the Common language of Rhydin.

Dewey would have had a heart attack and died here. There was no rhyme nor reason to the books. However, tucked between two rather boring mathematical books... The very one Maggie was searching for.

Looking for any place markings, she opened the book and set it down on the nearest flat surface.

As soon as the book opened, something between the pages slipped, and clattered to the floor. A wooden tag, square, with the letter "A".

She used the wooden square in one of the slots on the door after checking to see if any were marked with an A. "So, it's Mister Hawthorne's work..."

None were marked, but the tag fit so perfectly... As if made for it.

Maggie's next target was that wardrobe to see it it would open or had anything hanging from it.

The wardrobe opened easily... Revealing... Old robes. Some stained by years of science. Probably.(edited)

She moved the robes to look behind them, it worked for Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter! If she found no exit or anything hanging on the back of the wall, she would search the pockets of the robes.

The wardrobe shuddered, and clothes rustled. Oh my goodness, are you looking through my underthings?!(edited)

Maggie laughed. "You keep them in here?"

Where else would I keep them? A sleeve fluttered and papped Maggie on the head, gently.

She checked backs of the wardrobe doors and checked its floor for hollow sounds or drawers. "Drawers? You know... your drawers go in drawers... not on hangers!"

No hollow sounds... And there is a huff somewhere. My knickers are quite precious!

"Less chance of someone seeing them in drawers than hanging up!" Maggie grinned. "Who are you?"
She used a bit of magic to take the dust off the wardrobe.

Nobody visits me. I wanted to play a game. Play with me! The vials on the table clink and clatter, and there is a soft giggle.

"What name should I call you? If I come back, I want to know who to ask for." She tipped her head and tried the vials with clear substances to use as magnifying glasses to read the large book. "Might even bring Falcor. He is a dog ... usually wanders the armory cemetery."

Only one vial has a clear liquid, and it is cold enough to frost the glass. However, as soon as it is lifted, words appear on that page. Pouring this one out is key.

"Mm... yeah, but where," Maggie muttered. She looked for a cup or other container to pour the vial's contents. If nothing was else found, she'd pour it on the scale.

The clear liquid never hit any surface, but seemed to turn into a key as it came out of the vial. Somewhere on the bookshelf, a crack of ice.

"Water is Uncle Gory's thing ..." Maggie lifted the key with a gloved hand and searched the ice for a keyhole shape.

In the ice seems a book trapped... there is a perfect hole in the spine.

She carefully placed the key into the spine and turned it slowly. "So, B or C?"

There was a click, and the ice broke away, freeing the trapped book. At The Mountains of Madness.

"Mountains of ..." She made a hrm sound and carefully leafed through the book.

Midway through, another wooden tag was revealed. "G".

"G?" Maggie chuckled. "Trixy little Hobbitses," she did her best to sound like demented. Maggie went to the fit the tag into one of the remaining square shapes in the door.(edited)

A giggle, from above, then at the table.

She'd checked the inside of the wardrobe already, but looked around the outside again and tried to peek behind and under it, just in case.

Another giggle. You must love underclothes!

"Hey, they keep me warm!" She snickered. She went back to the table and studied it again. How many of the original five vials remained? The frosted cold one had been used as had the sixth that was found in the scale.(edited)

Four vials remained, one empty. A blue foam, something tarry and thick, and a liquid that fizzles ever so gently.

She shook the blue one first.

The blue foam sloshed in the glass, and the book on the table rustled.

Vial in hand, she opened it. She poured a drop or two on the book.

Nothing happened, but words were becoming clearer. The fire’s getting too warm. Something to calm the flame. the room did seem to be getting uncomfortably warm...

She looked at the fizzling liquid and shook its vial.

The fizz seemed to fizz harder... and the book responded. I have finally figured out the perfect flavor profile! It's delicious.

It reminded her of baking soda, so that liquid was what ended up on the fire.

The foam was dumped on the fire, and the flames calmed. A thin whorl of smoke drifted toward the books...

Maggie followed the path of the smoke and looked over the shelf where it ended.

The wisp stopped at the spine of Dante's Inferno.

"Oh, geeze." Maggie shook her head. "Really?" She looked around as if she had discovered someone had pranked her. "Uncles Hades, this is not funny!" She picked up Dante's Inferno and leafed through it.

A third tag clattered out onto the floor. "H".

"Ironic." Maggie shook her head as she picked up the H tag. She checked to see if she could fit that tag into one of the remaining squares on the door. Three vials remained: one empty, one filled with a tar substance and one with blue foam.

Three tags, three slots. What order will they be put in?

Maggie spelled out the one word that came to mind and placed the tags accordingly, H, A, and G.

There is an offended gasp. Is that what you think of me? I thought we were having a good time! I really just wanted to have some company!

The door opens and you are sucked through... Then spit onto the front lawn unceremoniously.

You're not sure where all that saliva came from.

THE END.

[Haunted House]

EBON

As you enter, the door slams shut behind you! No matter how hard you try, it won’t open. Alas!

Looking around the room reveals it to be a library with a laboratory setup on a large table. Five vials sit in a rack, all seemingly filled with different liquids. Nearby is a scale with a weight affixed to one of the plates, perpetually tipped. Forefront on the table, though, is an open book with beautiful scrolling on the pages. You can’t quite read what it says...There is a wardrobe near the entrance you came in, tall and dark and dusty. A fireplace crackles invitingly, and shelves upon shelves of books line the walls around the room. On the other side of the room is another door, with three square slots that look like they are missing something. Strange!

What will you do?

I start by examining the vials on the rack... if any are open, I lean in just a bit to sniff, but not too close!

The vials are unstoppered, and filled with different liquids. One or two smell sweet.

"Hmm." Turning from the table, I look around and then approach the wardrobe, reaching out to open it.

The wardrobe opens easily, revealing tattered old robes.

I spend a few moments looking through the robes.

There is a giggle from afar, and the wardrobe rattles. ARE YOU LOOKING THROUGH MY UNDERTHINGS?!

"Oh, I most humbly beg your pardon," Backing away, I turn and dip my head to the unseen speaker, returning to the table and that fascinating book. Perhaps if I examine it more closely, I might be able to read it.

The book seems unreadable in the way a forgotten word sits on the tip of a tongue. Blurred... but almost there.

"Alas. Perhaps one of these other volumes might prove more enlightening." I moved to one of the bookshelves and pick a tome at random.

There are many books to choose from! At random, a book of philosophical principles in gardening called Freud's Blue Bells.

"Gory should read this." I replace that and move to another shelf, and another book.

This book seems old, and tattered. It is a treatise on sand worms called Oh God, Sandworms!

"Clearly not written by a Fremen." Once again, I replace the book and move to another shelf, slowly but steadily making my way towards the door.

There is a giggle by the table.

I turn to look back at the table.

Nothing there but science stuff! The vials clatter as the rack scoots a fraction, as if pushed.

"You have a mischievous laugh," I say before turning back to the door, examining it closely, including the three slots.

Another giggle in response, and a chill flutters through the air.
The three slots are square, and empty. As if something had been taken from them. Perhaps hidden away.

I test the slotted door to see if it opens.

It does not budge. You feel perhaps the slots are a locking mechanism.

"A door with three locks requires three keys." I turn to face the room, then return to the table, examining the vial rack once more. followed by the weighted scale.

There are four vials with some manner of substance, and an empty one. One is a liquid that fizzles, another tarry and black, another is a foam, and the last seems cold enough to frost the glass. The weight seems affixed to the plate, and cannot be removed. Upon closer inspection there is a slot in the middle, seemingly blocking access to a glint of something within.

I try to peek inside the slot.

There's definitely something in there. Could be another vial? There must be some way to get it to open.

"I wonder, o my host, if one of these vials contains a substance that might aid me here." It was worth a shot.

A soft breath of air seemed to dance across the table, rustling a page on that book. Playfully, perhaps?

I turn that page.

All the pages seem the same. Barely illegible.

Taking the foamy vial, I hold it up close to my eye.
Then I pour its contents into the slot on the weight.

As you pick up the vial, a line of text becomes clearer in the book.

Hold up... no pouring yet, read the text first!

The fire’s getting too warm. Something to calm the flame.
Indeed, the room seems to be getting... uncomfortably warm.

"Hold that thought." I replace the foamy vial and pick up the frosted one.

The frosted vial trails wisps of vapor as it is picked up, and the text in the book changes, somehow.

I read the new text.

Pouring this one out is key.

I replace that one and pick up the foamy vial, taking it over to the fireplace.
There I pour its contents into the fire.

The fire calms, and there is a pink spark before a wisp of smoke drifts lazily toward a bookcase.

I follow the wisp over to that bookcase.

The smoke ends at the spine of Dante's Inferno.

"Abandon hope, all ye who enter here?" Chuckling, I take that copy of Inferno from the shelf.

The book seems warm to the touch, but not uncomfortably so... when was the last time you leafed through this story?

It had been a while. I start flipping through the Cantos.

As the pages flip, something is jostled free, and starts to slip from the pages.

I quickly reach up to take it if I can.

You catch a square wooden tab. It has a letter on it. "A".

Replacing Inferno on the shelf, I take the wooden tab over to the door, to see if it might fit any of the slots.

It fits perfectly. As if made for it!

"One down, two to go." Returning to the vials, I pick up the fizzy one and look to see if the text of the book changes.

The liquid fizzes a bit more as it is picked up, and the words shift on the page. I have finally figured out the perfect flavor profile! It's delicious.

"I'll save that one for last." I replace it and take the vial with black tar inside. What does the book say now?

it is always much easier to pour these things when they’re nice and hot.

I look for anything that might serve to heat the vial... or tongs to hold it over the fire.

Tongs seem to be on the edge of the table closest to the fireplace.

Setting the vial back in the rack for a moment, I take the tongs and gently--so as no to break it--use them to pick up that same vial and carry it over to the fireplace, holding it close enough to get warm, but not so close that I risk it boiling over or exploding.


Slowly, the liquid starts to melt, and there is the sweet smell. Molasses? Somewhere behind you, a soft plip of something dripping.(edited)

I turn to see what might be dripping, or where it's coming from.

A book seems to be sweating on the shelf. The other books don't seem to be getting wet.

Still holding the tongs and vial, I go over to take the sweating book from its shelf.

The book is Cooking With Hilda.
Could be full of great recipes! The food at the Perch is pretty tasty...

"Gnomish recipes? I wonder if I can take this with me." I start looking for tater tot recipes.

As you go on the mission of finding the best potato invention of any universe, another flat piece of wood is freed.
"G"

"No slashing!" Chuckling, I replace the book on the shelf and take the tongs and vial back over to the rack, hanging the tongs back where they were. Then I go to the door and see where this new tab might fit. "A, then G."

The tabs seem to fit in any of the squares.

A was in the middle, and G was in the bottom... in case the last one ended up as T. "Tag, you're it." Then I returned to the vials. "Fizzy is delicious... maybe I should drink it?" I sniff the vial in question.

There seems to be a giggle from above, soft and barely audible, almost an impression, and a shift in the air.

"But the frosty one is a key... and there is something here I would like to open." So I replace fizzy and pick up the frosty vial again.

The text in the book shifts, back to Pouring this one out is key.

So I start to pour its contents into the slot on the weight.

Before it can touch the plate, it freezes like an icicle, into the shape of a key. There is a crack of ice on a bookshelf, and a chill.

"Ha!" I take the key, and look towards the bookshelves to see if any of the books have changed.

One seems to be frozen. There is a hole in the ice at the spine.

I place the icicle-key to the hole to see if it might fit.
If it fits, I insert and turn it.


The ice breaks away as soon as the key fits into it, and a vaporous cold droops in thick wisps dramatically.

I try to pull the book out.

At The Mountains of Madness.

"Never read this one... it's on my list." Opening it, I scan through the first few chapters.

Another shift of wood within the story of madness and horrors beyond our imagination.

Taking the third tab, I replace the book and examine the little block of wood.

horkety hork — 10/30/2020
"H"
There is a soft sigh, somewhere.

"Hag? Now that's not nice... I'm sure you're quite lovely and charming!" I place the last tab in the top slot... but before I open the door, I look back at the vials. "Hmmm."

There is an offended gasp. Is that what you think of me? I thought we were having a good time! I really just wanted to have some company!

The door opens and you are sucked through... Then spit onto the front lawn unceremoniously. There is a giggle, and you feel something in your hand. Glass. Looking down at it, you're sure it's the delicious thing that beckoned so sweetly... But looking at yourself...

You're not sure where all that saliva came from.

THE END.

[Haunted House]

JAYCY

As you enter, the door slams shut behind you! No matter how hard you try, it won’t open. Alas!

Looking around the room reveals it to be a library with a laboratory setup on a large table. Five vials sit in a rack, all seemingly filled with different liquids. Nearby is a scale with a weight affixed to one of the plates, perpetually tipped. Forefront on the table, though, is an open book with beautiful scrolling on the pages. You can’t quite read what it says...There is a wardrobe near the entrance you came in, tall and dark and dusty. A fireplace crackles invitingly, and shelves upon shelves of books line the walls around the room. On the other side of the room is another door, with three square slots that look like they are missing something. Strange!

What will you do?


First I explore the room, including at least a quick perusal of the types of books in the room. After that, I check the book on the table.

The book seems unreadable, in the way that reminds you of a word you can't remember on the tip of your tongue.

I try and open the wardrobe.

The wardrobe opens, revealing... Old robes. And the smell of mothballs.

I search through any pockets in the robes, turning my face away to avoid the smell.

There is much lint to be found... Wait... Wait, are you looking through my underthings?!

Aye, aye, I am. Distractedly, dropping the lint, then closing the wardrobe. I move to the fireplace to see if anything besides wood is burning there.

Just wood. So cosy!

Hrm. I move now to the vials, first seeing if they're stoppered. If not, are they smoking. If not, then I lift them one at a time to smell them.

There are a few vials of different liquids. None are stoppered. The first you pick up... Starts to fizz, and the book on the table rustles.

I go to the book with the vial in my hand.

Words appear. I have finally figured out the perfect flavor profile! It's delicious.

I tip the fizzing liquid vial until a drop falls on the book.

A wet spot appears on the page, then dries. Nothing fantastic seems to come of it.

I set the first vial down and pick up the second.

The first words disappear, and a vial filled with something dark and thick is lifted. Different words manifest. It is always much easier to pour these things when they’re nice and hot.

I put down the second and pick up the third.

Again, the words shift as a vial of blue foam is picked up. The fire’s getting too warm. Something to calm the flame. And indeed, the room was starting to get uncomfortably warm.

From third to fourth.

The last is cold to the touch, and frosted. The book reads Pouring this one out is key.

And the fifth?

The fifth is empty. So sad!

I immediately pour out the last.

As the liquid pours, it does not splatter against the surface, but rather forms a key. Somewhere on the bookshelf, ice cracks.

I pick up the key and then drink the first vial.

Just as you drink the fizzy vial, you realize it is the most delicious thing you've ever put in your mouth. The flavor is indescribable! A book glows two shelves away from the frozen one.

I pour out the second vial (after putting the first one down), but still holding the key. It should be warm enough now.

The smell of molasses permeates the air, and a third book sweats.

A put down that vial, pick up the third, and toss it in the fire.

The fire turned colors for a moment, and smoke curled up, weakly toward the book case.

I move to try and take down the three books.

Each come easily. One still remains frozen.

I take them to the door and see if they fit into the squares.

The books do not fit. However, juggling three causes one to drop a wooden tag shaped just right. "A."

I shake the books.

Two more tags fall out. "G" and "H". Somewhere, there is a childish giggle.

I carefully put the books on the table for now, then try and arrange the letters in the spaces to spell HAG.

There is an offended gasp. Is that what you think of me? I thought we were having a good time! I really just wanted to have some company!

The door opens and you are sucked through... Then spit onto the front lawn unceremoniously.

You're not sure where all that saliva came from.

THE END.

[Haunted House]

MAIA

As you enter, the door slams shut behind you, and you find yourself inexplicably… Alone. No matter how hard you try, it won’t open, and nobody responds to any cries for help. Alas!


Looking around the room reveals it to be a library with a laboratory setup on a large table. Five vials sit in a rack, all seemingly filled with different liquids. Nearby is a scale with a weight affixed to one of the plates, perpetually tipped. Forefront on the table, though, is an open book with beautiful scrolling on the pages. You can’t quite read what it says...There is a wardrobe near the entrance you came in, tall and dark and dusty. A fireplace crackles invitingly, and shelves upon shelves of books line the walls around the room. On the other side of the room is another door, with three square slots that look like they are missing something. Strange!

What will you do?

Maia examines the wardrobe and tries to open it

Opening the wardrobe reveals... Old clothing. It smells vaguely of mothballs. There are a few pretty nice robes here.

she turns and approaches the table examining the scale but thinks better of it, She examines the door with the square slots more closely, would a book perhaps fit in there?

The slots are too small for any of the books here.

perplexed she tries to open the door

The door does not budge. There is a sigh. Will you try to leave so soon? Without even a how do you do?

calming herself she lifts the weight off of the scale, steeling herself for her demise

The weight does not budge.
It seems affixed permanently to the plate.

she approaches the vials and lifts one to examine it

The vial contains something tarry, and black. Just from the corner of your eye, you might see something on the pages of that book change. Words might have become clearer.

grabs more of the vials and approaches the book

horkety hork — 10/29/2020 9:21 PM
The vials all clink together, and the first line appears. It is always much easier to pour these things when they’re nice and hot. And then, just beneath... Please keep my things orderly.

Maia gasps looking around and squeaks " I'll do my best!
she puts the vials back in order on the rack and attempts to move it towards the fire place to warm the vials

Most seem to hold no reaction whatsoever to the heat. But the thick liquid eventually starts to soften, and even boil. The sweet smell of molasses permeates the air. Somewhere in the books, there is a soft plip of water.

Maia searches the shelves for the sound

One of the books is sweating. It is the only one doing so!

"oh my.." she reaches for the sweaty book

The book is Cooking With Hilda. Upon pulling out the book, it becomes immediately dried.

opens the book

When the book is opened, a square wooden tag falls out, in a familiar size... It contains the letter "A."

Maia takes the tag to the door and tries to see if it will fit in the slot

It fits perfectly. As if made for it.

"well that's a start" ....... She searches the bookshelves more thoroughly

So many books! Who organized them? They make no sense at all. Please don't tell any librarians.

scratching her head she walks back to the table with the self writing book "Care to give me a hint?"
she presses down on the plate without the weight

There is a clink of glass as the rack of vials is jostled, and a small giggle.
The plate lowers, and for a brief moment, there is a click. And then another, as it passes the flat point.

maia grabs several books and places them on the non weighted end of the scale

As soon as the scale is even, another click. A slot seems to open in the middle of the scale. Something glints like glass within.

"please please please" she whispers as she tries to pull out the glass object

A stoppered vial is pulled out, with a rolled piece of parchment within.

attempts to open the vial

The vial opens rather easily!

pulls out the parchment carefully and tries to read it

Metrics and you: A Guide. It seems like a reminder of some sort.

she scratches her head "hellllllllllllp"

A soft shff of a book moving on the shelf nearby.

she sniffles and looks around for the source of the sound

The very metrics book was pulled out slightly, away from the others.

pulls the book off the shelf and opens it

Another tag is settled in the pages of the book. "G".

she smiles in delight and takes the tag to the door "A and G?" She murmurs to herself
"maybe I should search the pockets of the clothing in the wardrobe" she says to herself and walks over, looking through them "I'm always leaving stuff in my pockets and forgetting about it..."

the wardrobe rattles, and there is a groan in the wood. Are you looking through my underthings?!

"nuh nuh no!" she quickly backs away and looks at the book on the table " I don't suppose you have any more information?"

A wisp of vapor flows from the glass of the cold vial

she blinks and follows it with her eyes
"Hmmmm" * she picks up the cold vial and sets it with the others by the fire*

It whips up beckoningly, then disappears.

"vapor or not, it's chilly, maybe this will help?"

The book's page rustles. On it is written Pouring this one out is key.

turns the empty vial upside down

Seemingly empty, a clear airy substance came forth, freezing into a key. On the bookshelf, a crackling noise like ice.

looks up and searches the shelves for the sound
she picks up the key and places it in her pocket, walking over to the shelves

A book seems to be encrusted in ice, with a lock on the spine.

places the ice key in the spine lock and turns it, praying

The lock clicks, and the book comes free. At The Mountains Of Madness.

she shudders and opens the book

Just as the others, a wooden tag falls out. "H."

she triumphantly picks up the H "..... GAH?"

A soft giggle.

she walks over to the door "Well one doesn't just call someone a Hag, it's not polite but I guess that makes the most sense... Tis the season I suppose..." *She rearranges the letters in the door to spell H, A, and G"

A rumble...
There is an offended gasp. Is that what you think of me? I thought we were having a good time! I really just wanted to have some company!

The door opens and you are sucked through... Then spit onto the front lawn unceremoniously.

You're not sure where all that saliva came from.

THE END.