Old Milborough Manor

[Aisling]

Tangle

You capture the Dusclops! The area feels a little better now, but it's still pretty impossible for the property to not give anyone the creeps. There's an old toolshed at the edge of the cemetery, and up on the hill behind you you can see the mansion.

Stala

The rotting door crumbles beneath your kick, and you sail clear into the cabin and land on an old, moldy bed, sending up a great cloud of spores and dust. An unusual amount of spores, even. It might be worth investigating.

 

[Phantom]

Phantom

You successfully catch the Banette! The tension in the room clears and the lighting returns to normal (though it's still pretty dark, only lit by Cato's flame and the moonlight coming through the window). You find a small key where the Banette's body was. Maybe this unlocks something?

Phantom pockets the pokéball containing the Banette. She picks up a small key, contemplating what it could possibly unlock. She pockets the key as well. "Good job, Cato," she says, giving her partner a smile.

She closed the door behind her, and now her eyes were focused on the stairs heading even further into the mansion.

Her Charmeleon at her heels Phantom ascended the stairs to the next floor.

 

[Blastoise Fortooate]

Blastoise
Stuck on the outside of one of the barrels is a Spell Tag. Inside the barrel is some rotting sludge at the very bottom. It probably used to be some sort of food fortysomething years ago. The stench is overpowering, and it would be in your best interest to cover it back up. The other barrels have no protective tag, and seem to either be empty or contain some equally stinky sludge.

Retching, Blastoise slams the barrels closed again and rapidly waves his hands in front of his nose. It smelled like rotten milk and fungus and yuck. At least the sludge (probably) wasn't animate, since grimer and muk could smell bad and follow you at the same time aaaaaaahhhh. Grabbing the tag off of the barrel and re-dampening the adhesive side, Blastoise called Woolfe down from the ceiling and put it on her face, where a nose would be on a non-lamp.

Hoping for less sludge and more gold jewelry, Blastoise places his omanyte on the crate closest to him. A quick order later and Galahad has begun working his flexible little tentacles into the cracks andcrannies of the box beneath him. Woolfe floats back upwards, sipping pinap juice (somehow) and spinning slowly to detect danger.

 

[Stala]

"Achoo! ACHOO!" All the spores were giving Stala's nose hell! "Achoo, achoo!" Seriously though, she was finding it kinda hard to do anyt- "ACHOO!" Okay, she was getting quite ann- "ACHOO!" Whoops she dropped Arizona that ti- "Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!" Clearly Arizona was getting ti- "Achoo!" -red of this as well, as he spa- "ACHOO! ACHOO!" -t a few ebers at the "Achoo!" bed responsible for his trainer's pli- "Choo!" -ght. Of course, th- "ACHOO!" -is left all the spores in the a- "Achoo!" -ir, but torchic aren't kno- "Sniff sniff" for their bra-

"ACHOO! ACHOO! ACHOO! Ah- ah- AH- ACHOOOOOOOO!"

ins. In the name of Arceus, someone's gonna feel this in their diaphragm tomorrow.

 

[Tangle]

Tangle

You capture the Dusclops! The area feels a little better now, but it's still pretty impossible for the property to not give anyone the creeps. There's an old toolshed at the edge of the cemetery, and up on the hill behind you you can see the mansion.

With the Dusclops' pokeball in tow, Tangle now went to examine the toolshed with her Bulbasaur right behind.

 

[Aisling]

Phantom

The hallway of this floor is much more spacious; there are fewer rooms on this floor, and they are smaller. There are two on each side now. Like the previous floor in the child's room, this floor feels rather uneasy, though also a little less hostile. An eerie, quiet whisper of a voice blows from one side of the hallway to the other. You could swear it came from one wall and drifted through to another...

Blastoise

Your Omanyte digs into the crate but finds nothing of value. The Lampent rotates quietly to herself, like a spinning lighthouse beacon. On her fifth rotation or so,

a female Gastly drifts lazily down the stairs, not noticing you and your party at first, but she and your Lampent's gazes meet and the two stare awkwardly at eachother. She wasn't expecting company.

Stala
In your violent sneezing fit,

a male Paras crawls out from under the bed and looks at you. It seems to be rather concerned, despite the fact bugs have rather inexpressive faces.

Tangle

The toolshed is indeed full of... well, tools. Just shovels and hoes and stuff. You also find... a doll?

Perhaps it was lost in here years ago... It kind of gives you the creeps.

 

[ultraviolet]

uv

The book is written in faded pencil, and is mostly nonsense. Pentagrams and similar shapes are scribbled on the sides of the pages. There is a page with the pentagram in the room drawn at the top, and the following phrases are written beneath it:
VIVUS SUB MALEDICTIONEM
BREVIS MENTIS DOLOR
SUPER TERRAM TUTO
INSCIUS SIMULARE MORTEM

It seems to be mostly gibberish... says Crackle somewhat disappointedly, tracing the sentences with his fingers. "Oh but hey, there's that pentagram thing that's on the floor! I wonder what that stuff says? It looks latin!" uv begins to read them out loud, still reading over Crackle's shoulder.
The lucario sighs inwardly and wishes his trainer was just a little more genre-savvy. I don't think that's a very good idea... but uv seems not to hear him.

 

[Aisling]

uv

After reading just the first line of the latin phrases in the book, your vision suddenly blacks out and you find yourself feeling utterly disoriented. This goes on for a few minutes before you finally come to realize you're lying on your back, alone, trapped in a cramped wooden box!

 

[Blastoise Fortooate]

Your Omanyte digs into the crate but finds nothing of value. The Lampent rotates quietly to herself, like a spinning lighthouse beacon. On her fifth rotation or so, a female Gastly drifts lazily down the stairs, not noticing you and your party at first, but she and your Lampent's gazes meet and the two stare awkwardly at eachother. She wasn't expecting company.

How squishy. They should date!

"Woolfe!" Blastoise calls, dramatically raising a hand. "Your ghost kung fu is stronger than hers!"

Hoping that this is distraction enough, he tosses a poké ball at the gaseous, confused-looking mass.

 

[Aisling]

Blastoise

Success! You now have a female Lampent, a female Gastly, and your Spell Tag.
There is an empty staircase where the Gastly once was. Other than back outside, it seems to be the only other place to go. You could spend more time cracking open crates, but it probably won't yield much.

(from here on out I'm gonna be updating your inventory with every update, for your benefit as much as mine. I think everybody has two Pokemon now? Except for Tangle. And at least one item. Except for Stala.)

 

[Blastoise Fortooate]

Success! You now have a female Lampent, a female Gastly, and your Spell Tag.
There is an empty staircase where the Gastly once was. Other than back outside, it seems to be the only other place to go. You could spend more time cracking open crates, but it probably won't yield much.

"Alright, Gally, it's time to move on," says Blastoise, lifting the little squiggle up by his shell. In his clutches, he's managed to grasp a pointless and probably dangerous fungus, which Blastoise promptly has Woolfe burn. Reminding himself to get himself and his omanyte checked for spores, he places the little fossilguy on his head again and, reluctantly, heads up the stairs.

He lets his new ghost out to see if she's alright/if she's a lesbian. The first enthusiastically, the last one all subtle-like, yo. Not that it would be a fact that would just present itself, though. Blastoise doesn't even know if ghosts have sexualities, so. He'll figure something out.

 

[ultraviolet]

uv

After reading just the first line of the latin phrases in the book, your vision suddenly blacks out and you find yourself feeling utterly disoriented. This goes on for a few minutes before you finally come to realize you're lying on your back, alone, trapped in a cramped wooden box!

Fear floods through uv as she screams and bangs her fists against wood. "Help! Hello?? Crackle?! Anyone?!" She tries to push the wooden lid open in front of her face, but she's in a hard position to do anything. She strains and kicks the wood with her feet and makes as much noise as she can.

 

[Aisling]

uv

You hear the sound of digging just overhead. It appears that you're underground! After several long minutes of scratching and scraping, a pair of red claws pries two boards of wood away from eachother, allowing light (and some dirt, unfortunately) to come though.

A male Parasect heard your cries for help and dug you out! You can't see Crackle from your current position, but with the Parasect's help you are able to climb out of the old wooden coffin.

current inventory: 3x Pokeballs, f, Odd Incense, Tinymushroom

Blastoise

You find yourself in a small kitchen-looking area. There is an old wood-burning stove, a sink and some cabinets. You can see the kitchen is connected to a large room, proportionally long and narrow. The floor is tiled, though much of it is cracked and broken away. A long dining table stretches from one end of the room to the other. The table still has several chairs lined up on each side, and some napkins remain spread out at some of the seats. Some fancy silverware and cups are still on the table, too, though not arranged very neatly.

current inventory: 2x Pokeballs, f f, Spell Tag

 

[Phantom]

Phantom

The hallway of this floor is much more spacious; there are fewer rooms on this floor, and they are smaller. There are two on each side now. Like the previous floor in the child's room, this floor feels rather uneasy, though also a little less hostile. An eerie, quiet whisper of a voice blows from one side of the hallway to the other. You could swear it came from one wall and drifted through to another...

Phantom shivered uncomfortably. It wasn't even cold. But, wait... was that a whisper? Taking her pattern of moving left to right, Phantom opened the first door on the left, bracing herself against whatever may come at her, which it might, after the incident with the Banette.

 

[Aisling]

Phantom

As you approach the door, you realize you hear a piano playing softly... The gentle melody continues up until you open the door, which causes it to stop suddenly. The room you enter looks quite empty. There is a large window that takes up most of the back wall, where the full moon shines in brightly. A large, black piano sits in the center of the room, and it is preserved eerily well. It's even still a little bit shiny. There are a couple of tall, thin bookshelves in each of the two back corners of the room, and a small table sits in the back of the room is set next to the right bookshelf. There is a jewelry box on the table. The walls and floor are otherwise bare.

current inventory: 2x Pokeballs, f m, Charcoal, old key

 

[Phantom]

Phantom

As you approach the door, you realize you hear a piano playing softly... The gentle melody continues up until you open the door, which causes it to stop suddenly. The room you enter looks quite empty. There is a large window that takes up most of the back wall, where the full moon shines in brightly. A large, black piano sits in the center of the room, and it is preserved eerily well. It's even still a little bit shiny. There are a couple of tall, thin bookshelves in each of the two back corners of the room, and a small table sits in the back of the room is set next to the right bookshelf. There is a jewelry box on the table. The walls and floor are otherwise bare.

inventory: 2x Pokeballs, a female Gastly, a male Banette, a charcoal, an old key

Phantom pianos? (ignore the pun) Phantom wasn't liking this. But, the room seemed empty, for now. Ignoring the creepy piano, Phantom makes her way to the jewelry box, looking for any possible locks.

[If there is a lock I try the old key, otherwise I open it]

 

[Aisling]

Phantom

There is a lock on the jewelry box. You use the small key you found with the Banette, and the box opens. A tiny little melody plays and you can hear the mechanism inside strain to play the tune. It's an eerie, sad melody. You're surprised it's still wound up after so many years. Inside the box is a Dusk Stone.

While your back is turned, the piano begins to play again, much louder now because you are in the room with it. It plays along to the song squeaking out of the jewelry box. (If) You turn around to see what's making the piano play, and it stops again. No one is there.

current inventory: 2x Pokeballs, f m, Charcoal

 

[Phantom]

Phantom

There is a lock on the jewelry box. You use the small key you found with the Banette, and the box opens. A tiny little melody plays and you can hear the mechanism inside strain to play the tune. It's an eerie, sad melody. You're surprised it's still wound up after so many years. Inside the box is a Dusk Stone.



While your back is turned, the piano begins to play again, much louder now because you are in the room with it. It plays along to the song squeaking out of the jewelry box.

current inventory: 2x Pokeballs f, m, Charcoal

Phantom's eyes grow wide in shock as the piano begins playing... on it's own, with no one playing it... as in there's no pianist.

It was safe to say that her heart jumped into her throat. The door looked very tempting, but that piano! Phantom pockets the Dusk stone without a second thought and then makes her way to the piano in the corner. It was large and black... and very animate apparently. Phantom, slowly, opens the top, gazing at the inside of the instrument.

 

[Aisling]

Phantom

You hear a deep, ethereal woman's laugh emanate from the piano as you slowly open it. Once you open it wide enough to see inside, you see that

it's just a female Misdreavus. She laughs again and floats out of the piano, circling around your head. She hums the song the piano had been playing.

current inventory: 2x Pokeballs, f m, Charcoal

 

[Tangle]

[
Tangle

The toolshed is indeed full of... well, tools. Just shovels and hoes and stuff. You also find... a doll?

Perhaps it was lost in here years ago... It kind of gives you the creeps.

Tangle takes the doll and exits the tool shed. Concluding that she had seen all there was here, she made her way to the now-visible mansion. Her Bulbasaur quickly followed, but became wary as she became closer to the door of the building.