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The Black Letter
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The Black Letter
The Black Letter
You don’t know where the letter came from. You woke up one morning with a panicked feeling, like you’d just had a nightmare. When you reached to turn on the light, you found a black envelope clutched in your fist.
The envelope was sealed with a wax stamp depicting a dripping candle. You might take a moment to admire it, perhaps you tore around it carefully, or maybe you ripped it down the middle. In the end, the result was only the opening of the envelope. Like so many things, the way that you open an envelope will never matter. The letter inside, however, did matter. At, least to you, and perhaps to me. But does that mean anything either?
You spread the now-wrinkled letter out and flatten the creases. The letter is slightly discolored, embellished with ink drawings of candles of all shapes and sizes. It reads:
Dear Distinguished Acquaintance,
You have been unavoidably invited to a twelve-night ball in the Candelabra Manor. In the height of antique luxury, you will enjoy fully stocked vintage wardrobes, six course nightly banquets, an array of games that will display the full extent of our three hundred and twenty-acre grounds, double bed gothic suites, and a fully stocked armory. You will find a trunk at your door in the morning. You may bring this, and only this, as full as you please with it still closing. Bear in mind that clothing will be provided. It would be reasonable for you to enjoy your stay, but I will not go so far as to say that we “hope” that you will.
Apathetically Yours,
Madame Flambeau
The trunk appears as promised, with a skeleton key lying next to it. Your first thought is to attempt to move the trunk inside, of course, but it stays put in the doorway and refuses to budge. After a moment of deliberation, you decide to pack it where it is. After all, who can pass up a luxury stay in an old, possibly murderous mansion? Finally, when it is as full as you’d like it to be, you start to close it. But then you remember one last little memento that you would like to bring with you. Upon finding the trinket, you find something else much less desirable. A form with the words “Candelabra Manor” and the candle seal emblazoned along the top. But all of the information has been filled out with, as a quick scan reveals, complete and chilling accuracy in midnight blue ink.
You stuff the letter in your pocket decisively and start unpacking the trunk. You’re not going. Oh no, no, no, no you’re not.
But it’s too late.
Form:
Name:
Gender:
CBer or Æ:
Appearance:
Percieved Age:
Skills:
Worst fear(s):
Personality:
On a scale of one to ten, how much of a leader are you?:
On a scale of one to ten, will you crack under pressure?:
How did you open the letter?:
Trunk Packing List:
This is, what I believe to be, the first illustrated Ski Lodge. I hope you enjoy it. You may bring up to two members of your party, CBer or Æ.
submitted by Madame Flambeau, Candelabra Manor
(September 14, 2018 - 3:26 pm)
(September 14, 2018 - 3:26 pm)
Eee, oh my Claaws! I'm going to have so much fun with the contents of those armoires. Possibly too much, if that's possible. I can't wait to see if Nymph or SG made it. Unless--unless that's Sea Glass standing next to RTP?
(October 1, 2018 - 7:31 pm)
Oh! I see RTP! :) "boy in an Avatar hoodie"
(September 30, 2018 - 9:19 am)
Is that me or is it someone else in the lower left corner of the illustration?
(September 30, 2018 - 6:45 pm)
Strange that Izzy and i haven't come in yet, hmmmm
(October 1, 2018 - 6:13 pm)
I can't wait for the next part!! Maybe I'll be in this one! And I love the illustrations!!!!
(October 2, 2018 - 9:00 am)
Yay for new part! Although... I notice you didn't answer my question :)
Laylanie says vowz. Perhaps she's vowing to come along next time...
(October 2, 2018 - 2:43 pm)
My apologies, I forgot to because Rogue correctly guessed my identity.
@Everyone who has mentioned seeing themselves in the picture, you were right. From left to right it's Rogue, N33, Quill and Joan, Sea Glass, RTP, and Icy.
Also, if I haven't mentioned you yet it doesn't mean anything. I have trouble writing a whole bunch of people at once, so I'm shifiting focus. Everyone will be included before the first mur- I MEAN, ahem.
*cough*
(October 2, 2018 - 3:38 pm)
Thank you for the amazing illustrations!! I must say, your manor is quite elegant.
(October 2, 2018 - 8:37 pm)
Aha, I was right!
Everyone will be included before the first ahem? So someone is going to say ahem, eh? I wonder who, and what kind of ahem it'll be. The kind that asks attention? A cover-up? An innocent throat-clearing? Will we be able to identify the murderer by their distinctive ahems?
(October 3, 2018 - 7:26 am)
Just a heads-up, my pronouns are now back to she/her!
Don't stress about notincluding everyone yet- I'm a ski lodge writer myself, I know how hard it is to include everyone before the first ahem!
Hmm, I wonder what knid of ahem it'll be... a hacking, attention-grabbing ahem? Or maybe a seemingly unimportant ahem that turns into a nasty bout of cold? These are the questions...
(October 5, 2018 - 7:10 am)
Ahem-hem...
(October 5, 2018 - 3:39 pm)
(October 7, 2018 - 4:35 pm)
(October 8, 2018 - 7:10 am)
The grounds proved to be small. The island was barely even that, more of a grassy rock, really. The jagged cliffs lead to an endless ocean that certainly didn’t improve the perceived size. To top it all of, a thick morning fog still hung over the twenty-six people as they cautiously worked their way around the cliffs and into the woods.
“Not really so much a forest as a cluster of trees. I don’t think you could even get lost in her,” Secret mused to her roommate, S. Clockwork. They had run ahead, and were looking around as they waited for the others to catch up. “Oh, hey, look up there!” A brass skeleton key was hanging from a long spider-like thread, swaying like a pendulum in the breeze. Secret jumped up and snagged it in one fell swoop.
“That’s kind of strange, isn’t it?” S. Clockwork asked, peering at the weathered key.
“I’ll say,” Secret said, glancing around. “Ooh, there’s a lovely little gazebo over here!”
“I’m right behind you!” The two girls darted off to the mossy, once-white structure.
The hoodie-clad Red Tailed Panda, shadow-veiled Darkking, the always bandanna-d Spring Flower, and silver cloaked girl known as Rogue caught up behind them. The gazebo had looked antique from a distance, but upon closer inspection it appeared to be about a year old, but weathered. Spring Flower ran her hand along the paint that was staring to peel, crumbling a chip between her fingers thoughtfully.
“What is this envelope?” Rogue stooped to pick up a black envelope tucked underneath a bench, silver cloak brushing the dusty floor of the aged pavilion.
“May I see it?” RTP asked. Rogue looked him up and down calculatingly. She finally handed him the envelope deliberately. RTP smiled and tore the envelope open carefully.
“Oof,” he recoiled, “it smells really strongly of… peppermint, or something.” He handed the torn envelope to Spring Flower, who gingerly pulled out the note folded up inside.
“Do you want me to read it out loud?” She asked. By now the rest of the group had arrived and were crowded in or around the gazebo.
“Yes.”
“Okay, it’s very short. It says: ‘You may have noticed that all of the doors in the manor were locked.’”
“I did notice that,” S. Clockwork said thoughtfully.
“’I have hidden the keys throughout the forest. There are fourteen in all. Each room has a party game set up inside of it for your enjoyment. Tea will be served by the staff, whom you probably haven’t noticed, at 3 o’clock. The first night of the ball will commence at five, you must wear a formal outfit from you armoire or you will not be served the dinner afterwards.
Sincerely,
Unus deTua.”
“They didn’t hide the keys very hard,” Secret noted.
“We could make a contest out of it! Whichever team fins the most keys wins,” Fireburst suggested, “We can go two rooms to a team. Find your roommate and someone else to pair with you time starts now!” She finished all in one breath, rushing off to locate her roommate, Alizarine.
Fireburst and Alizarine were the first to leave the gazebo and rush off into the little forest, paired up with Icy and Sea Glass. Night Vision, Jwyn, Rogue, and Spring Flower (the last of whom looked relieved to be out of the crowded gazebo) quickly followed. Agent Winter and Viola?, paired with Izzy and Narrator 33 took a few steps out of the area and quickly started strategizing. The remaining key-hunters split up into two teams Moonlightelf, Puck, Stardust, and Icarus, and finally: Celeste, Soren, Midnight and Bryann. S.Clockwork and Secret found themselves without a group, but they gave it their best shot anyway.
The hunt was fairly short, so I will not bore you with the details. Agent Winter, Viola?, Izzy, and Narrator 33 won by a staggering two keys, and they all headed back to the towering manor. Everyone was slowly warming up to each other, because there is no bonding like that of an experience shared. Sure, troll involvement might have strengthened the bonding, but key hunts are nice too (and much safer).
Izzy was gathering up the keys as they stood in the doorway with the mansion looming over them.
“11, 12 13… Where’s the fourteenth key?” She glanced around over the group, “did someone steal it because we won?” she laughed jokingly.
“Jwyn had it,” Night Vision volunteered softly.
“Hey, where is Jwyn?” Spring Flower asked suddenly.
“Jwyn?”
“She was here a second ago…”
“Okay, no need to panic.” Stardust declared loudly, quieting the group. “We should line up for a headcount, maybe she’s just… joking with us or something.”
But a quick headcount revealed that there were only twenty-five people.
Jwyn was nowhere to be found.
Sorry that I rather rushed the introductions- they were dragging out way too long and I needed to cut to the chase.
Ahem.
(October 8, 2018 - 7:41 am)
THE FIRST AHEM THE FIRST AHEM THE FIRST AHEM oh goodness gracious this is the third time Jwyn was the first one to be ahemed.
Wow, you're a great ski lodge writer Marigold! My days never seem to last long enough.
(October 8, 2018 - 10:20 am)