it's getting hot in here

[happyheartsstaff]

SO (PLEASE DON'T) TAKE OFF ALL YOUR CLOTHES

Days are almost meaningless, here in Wonderland. With the eternal twilight outside the windows and many of the hotel's amenities open around the clock, it can be hard to keep track, can't it? But you must sleep, or at least return to your room, some time. It's on one of these times that you may begin to notice a faint sound coming from inside the walls. Or is it the ceiling? The floor? Something that sounds like scratching, or tapping, or the strained whir of machinery. Then it fades away. Whether it's moving on to another room or stopping entirely, it's hard to tell.

After a few nights, or days, of this happening, it suddenly stops. There's a brief period of peace, and perhaps you even get some rest. Then there's a series of thumps, sharp clicks and a loud stuttering sound that signals the hotel's air conditioning unit giving out.

At first it's not so bad. It's dark out, right, how hot can it really be outside? The air itself still seems to be circulating, albeit more slowly, but it's enough that you can breathe. But the heat seems to keep building, and building, the air hanging heavy and thick and leaving a lingering feeling that it's pressing down on you. Even sitting still no longer becomes enough to ease the suffocating heat.

The staff don't know what's happened to the air conditioner, when you ask. "Oh, that finicky thing", they say, as if it's a minor inconvenience. They assure you that the Queen's mechanics will have it fixed in no time — they always do. In the meantime, can they interest you in a refreshing iced tea? Perhaps a dip in the pool?

Is it your imagination, or do a few of the staff seem a little uncertain as they try to brush off your questions? A little less confident than they always have been before? Whatever their demeanor, it seems they still have no answers to give. The astute may notice that after a conversation with one of these staff, they can't seem to be found again.

As if that weren't enough, the scratching in the walls starts up again. With the oppressive heat, the rising tension and frayed nerves, is it any wonder that the staff might seem more apprehensive?

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT 06/11 - 06/13

Sleeping is probably hard enough, in a hotel where the activity never seems to cease. At least it's generally quiet in the upper floors, at least Oysters can turn out the lights in their own room and find some peace.

...usually, anyway.

At first it's only the faintest sounds, something only noticeable to those who sleep lightly. The staff, if asked, don't acknowledge hearing anything and seem politely concerned about anything disturbing the rest of their guests. Oysters may be offered ear plugs, or a device to listen to music, or a trip to the spa for relaxation.

Then it grows in both volume and frequency, disturbing even the heaviest of sleepers at night. Some staff still say they haven't heard anything, other staff acknowledge the sounds but brush them off, unconcerned. Every building has its quirks, after all! There does seem to be an increase in staff milling about, however, making it difficult for those who may want to look into things without being seen.

CLICK CLICK... THUMP

06/14 - 06/21

The fourth day of the event begins with a short period of blissful silence, quickly ruined by a loud, persistent clicking sound, audible in all parts of the hotel... And then an even louder THUMP as the air conditioning unit gives out.

At first, it's not terrible — the air is still circulating, and while the heat is uncomfortable it's not unbearable. As time goes on, though, the heat builds and builds, until not even staying in place will provide any relief.

The staff profess ignorance to whatever happened to the air conditioner, if asked — some more convincingly than others. They all offer iced teas for relief, and suggest a dip in the Pool of Tears, though those who seem uncertain when answering any questions will try to leave the conversation faster, and won't be easily found again.

While the iced teas are incredibly effective at helping to beat the heat, they once again seem to offer some strange effects — enough glasses, and Oysters will be overcome either with anger and irritation, or a sense of serene calm. Any little thing could set off an Oyster who's been affected by the anger-inducing tea; an Oyster who drank the calming tea is utterly unflappable. These effects persist for just as long as it takes for the cooling effects to wear off, at which point Oysters are left with a choice — deal with the heat, or take their chances with another tea?

And to top it all off, the scratching noise in the walls has started up again. The few staff remaining at this point are as unhelpful as ever, but they don't have the same infuriating calm to their answers — but who could blame them being a little nervous?

QUEEN'S ADDRESS

06/21

And finally, the tenth day brings relief in the form of a loud shuddering sound, and then the quiet whoosh of a working air conditioner. Over the course of the day, the Hotel gets progressively cooler, until it is once again at the comfortable, cool temperature Oysters had grown used to in their first month here in the Hotel.

It also brings an address from the Queen.

"Oh, my curious Oysters, when you try to play with that which you don't understand, you break things! Not to fear, all has been set to rights now that our dear Dormouse has fixed what some careless guest disrupted. If you wanted to play games, you should have simply said! I have a dear companion for you who is so eager to join in the fun."

The Queen will not respond to any messages sent back to her.

If you have any questions, please direct them to the OOC post here. RNG results for the off limits areas will be going out tomorrow, so if anyone would still like to sign up for those that hasn't yet please do so tonight!

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© tessisamess

Comments

II

[scaredofdogs]

[Wei wuxian has been desperately trying to find the source of the sounds. But he has determined something interesting..Apparently he was gifted Inquiry and so he has been trying to figure out the best place to summon any spirits that might be in the area and see if they know what the noises are. He spots the other man and runs up to him. ]

Lan Zhan! I have some interesting news. Guess what I can do!

[inquiryguqin]

It's another hot night. As of late, it's hard to sleep when the room is humid, and then there was this sound that seems to be heard from all over the place, behind the walls. Not wanting to admit he's annoyed, the noise made him restless, so he got up and start to join Wei Wuxian on the investigation.

"This hotel gets stranger and stranger." He said with a huff. When he approaches him in the hall. "Wei Wuxian, you can't sleep also? Good news? What can you do?"

[scaredofdogs]

He twirls the flute around his fingers with a grin. "I'll show you. Let's find some place quiet." Or as quiet as it can be with a bunch of noises and things banging on the walls. He points towards the stairwell.

"Let's start there."

[inquiryguqin]

The stairwell? What is Wei Ying up to? "All right."

Dutifully, he follows after him toward the door that leads to the stairwell. The sounds of the thumping and scratching seem to continue, and he can't trace the source due to the heat being distracting.

[scaredofdogs]

"We have to do it here so that the staff doesn't see us." He opens the door and scurries into it, making sure no one else is inside that area.

"We need to figure out what is going on and I might have a way to get us some answers."

He waits for the other man to enter the stairwell before shutting the door quietly behind them. Not that he necessarily needs to be quiet since in a few minutes he will be making noise. But it doesn't hurt to be cautious.

[inquiryguqin]

He is just as curious and cautious, wanting to see what is his ideas, completely open to it. "I agree. All right, let's go in."

Door opens, he follows after him, climbing up the stairs. It's hot and stifling in the stairwell, not to mention dark as there is little light. Each step on the stairs brings an echo as there's no one around and he kept quiet.

[scaredofdogs]

"Okay..let's try it here." He lifts Chenqing to his lips and plays a few notes. He then removes it from his lips and waits. A few seconds later the flute plays a response.

He looks up at Lan Wangji and grins, "Apparently I've learned Inquiry and the hotel does, in fact, have spirits."

[inquiryguqin]

Now Lan Wangji looks quite surprised, very surprised. So many questions run through his mind. Curious, but he suspects since no one can learn inquiry in a short matter of time as it takes him years to master.

But then, he remembered a strange tea did show up in his room and he drank it, and he felt a strange power from it.

"You...you played so well." He felt a strange eloquent sweetness when he speaks. "How did you learned it?"

[scaredofdogs]

"I think we were given rewards and this is mine. I don't know if its permanent or temporary like everything else..which means we have to take advantage of it while we can. I'm going to ask them about the noises."

He brings the flute back up to his lips and expertly asks the question, as if he has been doing this his whole life. He doesn't understand how he knows it, but he memory is there and so is the power. He needs to find out as much as he can before it suddenly goes away.

He lowers the flute and listens to the response..and then another response..and another.

"Ah..there are a lot.."

[inquiryguqin]

"Ah..." ahhh, not fair, not fair at all. He thought. He lost all of his abilities and somehow, Wei Wuxian acquired one of his own.

"I have given a reward as well. Did you drink a tea given by the Queen? Because my reward...I'm not sure how it works, but when I put some effort into it, I simply talk and persuade. It works on the staff."

He waited for a few moments to allow Wei Wuxian perform a few notes on Chenqing and waited for the answer.

"What did you find?"

[scaredofdogs]

He concentrates on the notes and deciphers it as best he can. Although not trained in Inquiry, he has managed to figure it out by listening to the notes chosen.

"Apparently they don't know why the sounds are in the walls..but it's not their fault and they want it to stop too." And that came from about three different spirits and it was hard to keep track when they were trying to all talk at once.

[inquiryguqin]

Taking a moment to decipher those messages as Wei Wuxian relays to him, considering and in deep thought.

"Hmm. That is curious. If it's not a spiritual source, then...that means they don't know. Shall we keep moving forward and keep looking? Maybe further upstairs?"

[scaredofdogs]

"It's worth a try. There might be more spirits on different levels that have different answers."

He hopes they can find some that might be able to unravel some of the mysteries of the hotel. And in order to do that it might mean finding out how many dead are actually haunting this place.

"I think I should ask how they died..if they died here then this place might not be as safe as we think."

[inquiryguqin]

He too wanted to unravel the mysteries of this hotel. If he could have inquiry at his disposal he would have asked the spirits the questions to fetch answers that could give them clues to unravel the mystery, but alas.

But he trusts Wei Wuxian to be capable. "Yes, you have to ask that. So try again. With your flute. Ask them."

[scaredofdogs]

He plays the notes as he walks, being careful going up the stairs as he does so. But he wonders if maybe the spirits will follow them since they finally have someone to talk to.

He once again lowers it so that he can hear the answer and he frowns as the notes plays. The more voices there are the harder it is for him to distinguish what they are saying and apparently a lot of these spirits are rather upset.

"They won't say but apparently they don't like the queen very much. Apparently they blame her."

[inquiryguqin]

He follows him up the stairs also doing his best to listen in, but he cannot pick up anything at all. All of his powers to detect spirits has vanished. He wonders what is like for him to play inquiry? It's a skill not known by many, but only within his own clan. With practice, he thinks Wei Wuxian will be skillful and adept in that regard, being tuned to the spirits.

"The Queen? Do you think she's the culprit? I always suspect that it was her that kidnapped us in this place."

[scaredofdogs]

"It sounds like it..If she is dangerous then there must be something we an do before anyone gets hurt." Or at least before anyone else gets hurt. It seems they are already too late to save some people.

"If the spirits are afraid of her, then clearly we need to be wary as well."

[inquiryguqin]

If the spirits are afraid of her, then there's a good reason. So many questions on his mind, but he could not push Wei Ying to perform inquiry too much.

"You can ask questions, but I don't want you to strain yourself. Performing inquiry requires spiritual stamina. How did you discover inquiry, Wei Ying?"

[scaredofdogs]

"I found a tea in my room and it said Inquiry so I took a chance. I was curious to see if it was what I thought it might be. And then..it was like I just knew I could do it. I wasn't sure I could do it with Chenqing but..it worked."

Wei Wuxian has been trying each of the doors they pass in the stairwell but they have all been locked. He uses Inquiry at one point and the spirits keep telling him to go higher. And eventually they get to one door that isn't.

[inquiryguqin]

"Huh. You found a tea. That was..." He drifted off. "I wonder if that's my power? I found a tea also in my room and took a chance. I think the power belonged to someone, but...I don't know if it works."

His tea was labeled, 'Sweet-talking/temptation', but he won't admit he drank it, hoping it might work on Wei Ying or if it works generally if any at all. But now it's not the time to experiment as Wei Wuxian is busy investigating, going upward and higher on the stairs.

With many of the staff mysteriously vanished, they found a door to reveal a hallway. Down the hallway, there's a door carelessly left open by a fraction of an inch, which Lan Wangji took noticed.

Quietly, whispering. "Wei Ying, should we go have a look in that one?"

[scaredofdogs]

Wei Wuxian is not one to hesitate, especially when they have a lead to follow. Even as Lan Wangji is asking if they should, he's already pushing the door open and peering inside.

"I think it's empty." He walks in and looks around at what appears to be someone's bedroom.

"I wonder if this is where the spirits wanted us to go."

[inquiryguqin]

Once the door is open, the room is dark. Lan Wangji searched for the light switch on the wall to turn it on.

The room is indeed empty. Part of Lan Wangji, he wasn't sure if they should be here. It felt like trespassing.

"Wei Ying. This looks like somebody's bedroom." He said quietly. It's smaller and looks more utilitarian. "Be careful. Let's search for clues."

[ooc: For reference of this thread, details of the room!]

[scaredofdogs]

Wei Wuxian wanders around the room. He notices the jacket hanging on the door and studies the pattern on it. He wonders if this is a symbol of the hotel staff but it doesn't seam that familiar.

He continues around the room, checking out as much as he can but he hardly sees anything out of the ordinary in the room. If they are in a staffers room then certainly there would be answers to some of their questions somewhere in here.

[inquiryguqin]

He tries to be as quiet as possible. He searched everywhere. He opens the bathroom and finds nothing remarkable. To him, it doesn't feel right, it feels invasive somehow. This is somebody's personal bedroom, probably a staff.

He found the portable music player, puts the headphone on, thinking it's a clue that will lead anywhere. It plays an instrumental song, a slow, sad ballad. But it was something similar to what was being played in the night-club. Playing for a few minutes. That can't be it.

Nothing out of the ordinary that made him wonder why the spirits lead them both here.

It's only then he noticed the safe. Perhaps they can find something in the safe? It could be important. So without saying a word, using the strength of his right arm, after messing with the rotating lock, he pried the small safe's door open with a force.

"Wei Ying, look." Inside the safe, he found two glass bottles of the colored tea they recognized that was given by the Queen and a switchblade.

[scaredofdogs]

He walks over and peers inside the safe as well. He reaches in and pulls out the switchblade first. It's the first weapon like item he has seen since being here. He turns it over in his hands, curious if there might be something special about it.

He then glances at the teas, "Why would someone keep these items locked up?"