FINAL INVESTIGATION

[grimgrinningghosts]

[It’s Wednesday morning, and when the 8 remaining guest wake up, they’re greeted to a soft song playing in the distance. Even with the stress of the past few months, the song helps puts the living guests at east, a beam of hope in the dark times.

As the guests go to investigate the noise, they will find themselves heading to the casino. On a nearby card table, there is a pigeon with a key in their mouth, they’re docile enough to let you pet them if you want, but don’t expect them to stay around for long. As soon as all either guests enter the room, they drop the key and fly away.

A small note is attached to it, reading:]

I wish I could help more, but this key should help aid you on the journey that lies ahead of you. I believe in you all.

-Walt

[When they look for the door the key works on, they’ll quickly realize that there’s a locked door near the back of the casino, the key is a perfect match for it. When they open the door, they are greeted by a stream of moving carriages, Doombuggies, as it were, heading towards an inky black tunnel. It’s not exactly the most… normal way to investigate the mansion, but according to Walt this is the best bet you guys have.

As the remaining guests get inside the Doombuggies, they’ll find that the dark tunnel seems to stretch on forever, and you can feel them slowly go down, down, down. You might start to wonder how this tunnel even fits into this mansion, but this mansion never fit into normal reality, has it?

Eventually, as the Doombuggies take you further and further down, the guests will start to notice a branching path in front of them, either through sheer coincidence or some presence guiding the guests, they will find that no matter what they do, they’ll find themselves evenly split, going through the separate forks in the track.

It keeps going until soon, the ride comes to a sudden stop. A voice is heard through the halls.]

Playful spooks have interrupted our tour, please stay seated in your... Doombuggy. We will proceed in just a moment.

[But no matter how long they wait, the “ride” doesn’t start back up again. While it’s still dark down here, there’s enough light to make out a passageway besides the buggies, no matter which path the guest ended up taking.

Investigate?]

Comments

[grimgrinningghosts]

[There are, but it's in complete disarray. Peeling wallpaper, numerous piles of garbage/discarded food, and a bed that appears to have caved in. You have the bed, a nightstand, and a pile of knock knacks in the corner.]

[defyingfrigidity]

A bedroom, right above a set of cells like that?

[That's... well okay. Everything about this is ominous and creepy, but this even more so.]

Let's... let's be careful. We can't have any more accidents.

[God, she's still shaking from the gun going off. But she'll try and focus, and move over to the nightstand. Anything on top of it, first off?]

[grimgrinningghosts]

[...a tape recorder, one that looks a little smashed up, mind you.]

[defyingfrigidity]

[.... Of course the one from the 1800's had to find the tape recorder. She can recognize it's some sort of technically advanced thing, but she's too afraid she might ruin something by just pushing buttons, so she calls out to the other three.]

Um... do any of you know how this device works?

[And she holds it up!]

[sixfingeredstan]

[Ford comes up the stairs last, and looks around the room with no small amount of curiosity. It's disgusting, yes, but at least there are no dead bodies!

He looks at the item Elsa is holding up, and his face lights up.]

Of course I do! It's a tape recorder. It's used to record and play back messages. Sort of the same way the buttons on the portrait wall could play songs.

[He takes the tape recorder and look it over, punching the buttons experimentally. Is it still functioning?]

[amadeusrockette]

A tape recorder? [The fuck. She's from 2010 and only people into retro junk use those.] I didn't even know those still existed.

[sixfingeredstan]

Of course they do. Don't be ridiculous.

[Ford Pines, a man who doesn't understand how USB drives work. It's fine.]

[grimgrinningghosts]

[After a moment, it begins to play.]

"Log Da-"

[The sound garbles, before picking back up again.]

"One issue that has caused me great distress since my passing is...learning how many lost souls have been taken advantage of, both by demons and The Greek God of the Underworld. I have pondered for many a restless night on how to combat this issue, and I believe I have it. Gracey Manor, henceforth rechristened as 'The Haunted Mansion' shall be...a sanctuary for spirits. One in which ghosts can find themselves both permanent residence and protection from those who would seek to do them harm.

Madame Leota has provided me with a good deal of abilities to help me in this purpose. By binding my spirit to the mansion, I shall never be able to leave the grounds, but will be able to protect it from dark influences for the rest of eternity. So long as my soul continues to haunt this mansion, none of these dark forces will make it into my domain.

If they do, well...they'll find that I am one individual that they will not be making friends with."

[The tape skips ahead a little, before settling on one final clip:]

"I received an interesting proposition today.

I was approached by an individual who offered me the chance to...fix my beloved Emily. For good.

All I would need to do is assist him in...a sacrificial ritu-"

[The tape cuts out.]

[sixfingeredstan]

[....Oh, boy.

Ford listens with increasing alarm, not because he's afraid of anything the voice is saying—but because he knows exactly what that proposition was, without needing to hear the rest of it.

Gracey Manor...'Emily'. It's clear that the voice is the same as the writer of those notes. Beau Blood. But...

Is that the Ghost Host's voice?]

[grimgrinningghosts]

[Yes.]

[defyingfrigidity]

... So the host was the one that wrote all those letters.

[She'd thought he wasn't the owner of the house. That he was just employed by the owner. But knowing how this all links up now...]

This ritual... it. It can't be what we were forced to go through, can it?

[sixfingeredstan]

It seems that way.

[Ford's expression is grim, and he gives her a questioning look.]

I don't see why not. It explains why the Host even let it happen in his house at all, considering how unhappy he seemed about it all.

[outsidethecircle]

I don't know, Julia. It's gross, though...

[She's going to the knick knacks. What's in this shack?]

[grimgrinningghosts]

[To start, have a broken ship-in-a-bottle. The ship has been broken in two, and glass is scattered.]

[outsidethecircle]

[That... looks old. Does it look like there's anything else of interest in the pile?]

[grimgrinningghosts]

[A few other things. There's a broken photo frame, holding a sepia-tone photograph of a man and a beautiful woman. The man sort of bares a resemblance to the Ghost Host.]

[outsidethecircle]

[Oh. Oh. The ship was a clue but she stands up.]

I think I found a picture of Ghostave...!

[grimgrinningghosts]

[There's a few other things here if you'd like to keep looking!]

[outsidethecircle]

[Okay, let's get back to the pile. What else is there to snoop out?]

[grimgrinningghosts]

[A jar full of paper stars, two empty and cleaned-out bottles of barbecue sauce, and a crumpled-up letter decorated with flowers, hearts, and "Ghostave" written in cursive (there's a doodle of the ghost host in the corner).]

[amadeusrockette]

[Julia's just gonna. Investigate the bed! Which does, indeed, look super gross and probably won't lead to killing someone else today.

Does it look like the beds in their rooms? How jacked up is this bed really?]

[grimgrinningghosts]

[It's completely unmade, and covered in food crumbs. There are a few bugs scattered about, mostly pecking at the crumbs. There is an open Playboy Magazine laying on the bed, and there are a few stains on the sheets.

...The stains are from soup, you fuckers.]

[amadeusrockette]

[Um. Still ew????? She's gonna close that magazine up and cover it with the sheets, lest Anna see it. Guess Oogie was here.

Is there anything under the bed?]

[grimgrinningghosts]

[LOTSA FUCKIN BUGS]

[amadeusrockette]

[MMMMMMMM Julia doesn't shriek, but it's a close thing. For someone who literally has a bug in her pocket, Julia is not about this life.

She's just gonna . . . leave those alone
. . . Is there anything else about the bed???? Or can she be excused??????]