Swamp paused for a second or two, his gloved hands in position to separate an exposed ribcage as Amaranthine began to play. It was very different than the music that she had performed earlier. Forceful, almost frenzied in its execution, but balanced with sweeping sections of powerful melody. It was invigorating. The Doctor gave a smile of approval that, thanks to his surgical mask, could only be seen in his eyes. Realizing this, he bowed his head in the direction of the Chanteuse, then continued at his task with renewed gusto. "Autopsy Music, indeed..." he crooned, taking a pair of heavy-bladed shears to the more stubborn of ribs. A few unsavory popping sounds later (obscured but not quite negated by the music) and Swamp had removed the front of the man's chestplate altogether. He set it aside, picked up a smallish, sharp blade, and dove in. He barely seemed to notice the lights flickering off, though he did mumble a quiet thanks as the oil lamps were lit.

One might see the slight sway of the Doctor as he moved, directed not only by his instinct and experience, but by the music floating as an almost tangible thing around him. As he switched from one tool to another, one might observe a slight flourish to his movements; in a couple of instances he stopped working altogether to gesture his gloved, bloodstreaked hands in time to the melody. The Doctor operated with speed, skill, and surety, occasionally collecting fluids from within the cadaver.

The Doctor located and spread out a series of metal bowls upon the table next to the ex-person and began to relieve him of his internals in a meticulous, very orderly fashion. This was no mere butchery, this was the proficient work of a steady hand and keen mind, led by rare and recorded experience. Every organ from the man's torso with only essential tissues eventually found their way into the bowls, one at a time, still warm-ish and colored with the tint of a recently vacated vitality. "...on the one hand," he mumbled, "I should want to have drained the ichors from the late Lord's remains... Hmm. Though I shan't fear a little extra splatter for the sake of expedience." Though he mentioned splatter, there was little if anything at all in the way of arterial blood decorating his coat. It was uncertain if he was speaking to himself or to someone in the room, but he at least seemed to be enjoying the moment. Once the song ended, he addressed Amaranthine with a polite clap and an intonation of, "Glorious."

Wishing to confirm his suspicions from the external examination first, Swamp opened Lord Bardolf's heart. It took precious little time before he excitedly clapped his tools to the table and gave an enthusiastic, "Ah-HA!" He pulled his mask down and called over their chaperone for the occasion, "Quinton! Quinton, my good man..." Whether he moved to join him or not, Swamp was excitedly explaining what he had uncovered. "Now, if you observe this about his hands - and pay attention to the fingertips here, this is important and I shall explain why in a moment - and look at the discoloration in his sclera," Swamp pulled back an eyelid to allow view, "But this, sir," he said, motioning to the externalized heart, "Observe. Do you see what I see? Quinton, dear sir, the cause of your Master's death..." He leaned in close, whispering the answer to the larger man with a sense of solemn quiet. The Doctor straightened back up, eyes locked with Quinton as he gave a slow, serious, affirming nod. "I am certain of it."

He swiftly turned to Amaranthine, "Thank you, Chanteuse, so much for your assistance. It was invaluable. Inspired. Madame?" he gave a quick glance around and leaned in, relating the cause of death to her as well. Perhaps he was being paranoid with his secrecy. Or perhaps he was just being cautious. This kind of thing, if it were to be believed, could have a lasting impression on the remainder of their stay.

"If I could, Mr. Quinton? I would like to see what else I may determine, if anything."

Whatever she was doing, it seemed to be working for the man. At least it seemed to be in her eyes. What he was really doing was a guess to her. This wasn't something that she really knew anything about. The human body wasn't exactly something that got her attention, at least not the insides. Though the playing seemed to help her as well. It was at least keeping her focused on something other than the cracking of bones and slicing of flesh, and organs. Oh god, organs. Sure she had seen bodies before, sure she had seen animals before but this was different. This was a body on a table being cut open to figure things out, not an animal being cleaned to eat. This was a person. Okay, keep playing, don't throw up. Focus on the music. Was she going green in the face?

Gasping as the lights went out the music stopped suddenly. She both scared that the lights suddenly went dark and relieved that she could no longer see the body. She followed the instructions of Quinton and didn't move, just waiting. Him lighting a lamp helped but the shadows did make things look a bit off, at least it wasn't bright anymore so the details weren't as obvious from where she was standing. She hoped that it was enough for the doctor to continue what he was doing. From the sounds of it, he was making progress or figuring something out. She stayed where she was, letting him do his work and really not wanting to trip over something and perhaps taking a nose dive into the open carcass of the Lord Of The Manor. That would NOT have been a good time, not that any of this evening minus a very select moments had been. She was starting to a feel a bit sick and turning a tad green in her face.


* Okay, this has been working well in other Rps, so if you need a roll you can place it at the end of your post or your can PM me the roll request. Only 1 or the other for now until we establish if this helps and works here.

With the lights out, the heat they were giving is no more. Now there is still some heat rising from the floors below but as neither the Confinement Room or the Laboratory have fireplaces, it is starting to cool quickly in the rooms. A few more rounds and it is going to get cold, at least the characters will figure this at the rate the temperature is dropping so far.

Right now, in the Confinement room, it is dark. No light coming in at first. Now that your eyes are having time to adjust - those who have low light associated skills are being able to pick up a little - thanks to the tiniest bit of light coming in from under the north door where Titian had been standing by earlier. (This is not seen by anyone without a low light type skill as of yet. Their eyes adjust faster. So most are in total darkness currently still.) The music that was coming in from elsewhere is gone. As people are speaking and such, you are unable to hear anything else right now outside of the room. Yet, as of right now, no one has come to check on those of you in confinement.

Over in the Laboratory, you have some light thanks to Quinton lighting a lamp. He is making his way around the room, lighting more. He doesn't look like he is going to leave Swamp and Amaranthine alone in the room even with the lights and gas going out. Lighting more lamps and bringing one over to the table where Swamp was working. He tilted his head to the side. "Yeah, go ahead, find out whatever you can," he said to the man before looking over at Amaranthine, she wasn't looking too good to him. "You alright?" he asked.


Whatever plans that Titian had, well they went out the window. Granted, it really like he had a plan. He was more of the type to just act before thinking. Then again, thinking half the time didn't really help him. Just roll with it, rollability. That was what he had to do. People were getting hostile in the other room, pulling weapons, getting worked up: including him. Yeah, exit, stage left when the chance presented itself and that was what he did. Stepping over to the windows he looked out and spotted the Grand Balcony. That must have been where he spotted that pale thing above when they first pulled up to the front. How the hell did whoever it was get the hell out there on the balcony? The windows were sealed and there was no door from what he could tell.

Looking left and looking right, he needed to keep moving. Sure, it would have been a great idea to go find Swamp and Amaranthine but apparently his sense of direction wasn't working right then and he headed towards Abandoned Wing side of the Attic floor instead of the Laboratory Side. The door was open to the next room and he walked in. Empty it looked like, no windows, no light save for what was coming in from the windows in the room he just exited. He had to duck down, like he had in the confinement room, as the ceiling was only 6' and he was taller than that. Stopping he waited to see if his eyes would adjust some so he could see. Reaching into his pocket he pulled something out of it and listened.

"I don't think he's the smartest one around, he's more of the opposite of it if you ask me," Penance said simply when Titian made the comment about him thinking he was being the smartest person in the room. That was a dumb sort of thought for him to think truly, and as far as she knew, nothing had really warranted it. Since several people had just pointed out the problems with the words that he had spoken, and now he thought he was smarter then everyone else because they called him out? That was just an idiotic way of thinking.

Then of course, the lights decided to go out, and she was wondering what the hell happened to cause that. "Well this is certainly a bit of a predicament. Unfortunately, I do not have any sort of light source in my possession, did not expect to need one considering we are in a house that for the most part had power until now... And that man, just because everyone else was not seeming to buy what he was saying when he decides to throw a temper tantrum and break down the door like that, a bit of an over reaction."

"Though a light source is the least of our worries at the moment, as heat likely will be the more concerning thing, it is getting to be a bit chilly now isn't it?" she commented, her eyes flickering around the room ever so slightly, not too sure really what anyone else would say about everything. Considering at the moment it was obvious that no one else seemed to have a light source at the moment, which likely would cause some problems, and there didn't seem to be anyone coming to the room to check up on them.

Maybe it was just Cobalt's other senses sharpening now that his sight had been robbed from him, but the distinctive smell that Cobalt suddenly found filling his nose was enough to tell him that someone was lying. Someone in the darkness had a means of bringing light, or at least if they didn't, they would be an embarrassment to their trade. Just as that thought crossed Cobalt's mind, a darker one slipped in as well.

Cobalt had heard stories that those who spent their lives in the darkness grew accustomed to it, that their eyes adjusted over time to the point that they could see in the dimmest light. If their was someone in the room who had the means of bringing light, what reason could they have for not doing so? Unless the darkness was their greatest advantage, and this was the opportunity they had been waiting for. Cobalt instinctively pushed himself even further back against the wall, eyes straining. But to him, it was just darkness. For all he knew, a killer could be standing just a pace away, and he would never even see it coming.

If Cobalt had thought the darkness might hush the other guests, he was clearly mistaken. While his ears listened intently for the ominous sign of creaking floorboards approaching him, he couldn't help but listen to them as they continued to talk as if nothing had changed. Their dislike for Titian had certainly not cooled off, and he heard several quickly condemn him for leaving the room. How they could possibly know that he had done so, Cobalt had no clue. He had heard the door, same as all the rest of them no doubt, but he had no inkling as to whether someone had been coming or going, or who that someone was. They all must know something Cobalt did not.

Perhaps Titian was the obvious candidate, but Cobalt wasn't one to jump to conclusions. He'd been burnt by that mistake too many times before. As he listened on, he heard another guest remark about the concern of heat, and for the first time Cobalt noticed the slightest drop in temperature. Not cold, not even unpleasant yet, but there was certainly a slight drop. If it came to it, Cobalt would certainly take a stab in the dark over freezing to death. Deciding that some action had to be taken at least, Cobalt opened his mouth to speak.

"If everyone is still in one piece, might I suggest that those that were near the doors when the lights went out try and find their way to them. They likely offer our best chance of escape after all."

Walnut heard someone cry out Why?! and she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Nothing good had happened since they set foot in this place. They were no closer to having the torment of being blackmailed and extorted lifted. But of course, once the lights were out, it was time to cry in despair - as if that was the first truly unfortunate thing that had happened to them. Another voice - perhaps the same one? - then asked if they were all fine. Walnut supposed that at least was a decent question - under the cover of this darkness, anyone could have picked up a weapon and attacked one another with anonymity. She kept on listening to what others were saying. A new voice heavily implied that Titian had escaped the room under the cover of darkness - either him, Cobalt, or Moss, but context clues pointed towards Titian.

She didn't hear music anymore, but a chill was starting to set in. It wouldn't be too long before it became rather cold in here, making Walnut wonder if it would be better to remain and allow Titian to be caught by the household staff - or to leave and escape the oncoming indoor winter? "Given that we have yet to hear Mr. Titian, I believe whoever spoke earlier is correct - he likely is no longer in this room. He speaks too much to be quiet," Walnut said. "If we do choose to leave the room - which will help with the heating issue, assuming someone can find their way to the door and open it... I do not think we should stray too far. The favor of the household is important for our survival."

It wasn't really unexpected, given it was the only way of interracting with the rest, but suddenly the chatter felt like it had increased. People were speaking out and expressing their opinions once more. The sounds of people in the room, certianly beat not having any voices though, it this was complete silence, well it would have been really scary experience, being locked in a completley dark and silent room, not knowing what was out htere. With people talking, at least you could get a feel that you weren't alone. She frowned as the people in the room started accusing Titian right away again. Well yes he did break out a door and by the sounds of it left them behind, but could he really be blamed if all these people were accusing him like this still?

Though that said, it's not like she couldn't understand their point to a degree. Still as far as she had seen the man act until now, he didn't seem like someone who if he wanted to hurt you would do so by underhanded means. He seemed like a direct kind of guy to her and he did help her earlier, so she wasn't really willing to blindly blame him for this mess, so on that count she was in disagreement with the others who voiced such opinions.

Anywas, she also spotted the fact that it was getting kind of colder now. Only now she realized, yeah... fires were out across the manor, so there was not constant source of hot air to warm the confinement and well... this was the attic sort of, was it not? Above them was only the roof and tiles, they wasn't much to isolate them from the cold outside. She frowned as her hands grasped in the darkness, only to find her animal in her lap still, so that was nice. Taking it carefully she blindly put it in her pocket again, as to not lose it in this darkness.

"Well... I'm having harder time moving... and I'm sort of in the middle of the wall without a door so..." Prima Rave said as people seemed to agree that locating the doorways was the course to follow for hte moment. She didn't really want to go outside without someone from the manor to be present, but well... neither did she want to freeze to death later." Maybe we can call out to someone to come with a light?" She asked." I mean they probably would want to keep an eye on us in this darkness after all, right?" She suggested and with that said she slowly and carefully started to attempt to stand up at least. Using the wall behind herself to lean on, she put as much weight as she could on her healthy leg, as to not strain the injured one.

A slight smile crossed Swamp's face when the houseman, Quinton, gave him leave to continue gathering what information he could from the remains of Lord Bardolf. That fact gave further confirmation to a suspicion that the Doctor had from earlier. He regarded the taller man with raised eyebrow, seeing him in a slightly different light. "Yes, yes of course." He looked back to the splayed open cadaver, the major organs arranged in bowls nearby. "Hmm, one moment."

Swamp limped back to the operating table. He arranged one or two of the bowls, mumbling all the while. "... appendix, heart, kidney one and kidney two, large intestine, liver, lungs one and two, spleen, stomach... should I check for...? Maybe. ...maybe." The astute observer might notice that he was putting the Lord's internals in alphabetical order, for whatever benefit it might have. "No, no. Immaterial to the present issue," he said, motioning in front of himself. After a couple of seconds, he realized that he was pantomiming writing something, as if the idea manifested in his hands before he spoke it. "Of course."

Swamp went to the rolling tray next to the table and used it to bear down on. From his belongings, he produced a writing implement and a notebook. Bold, sweeping script flowed onto the page, summarizing the postmortem examination in official wording, followed by a more plainly phrased cause of death, underlined, and signed:


There was the slightest pause, looking at his signature. It was an understandable habit, putting one's signature down on an official medical document, or one that would have to suffice for the meantime to keep proper records. He did have to mark out the proper name, however, and replace it with his alias for the event, owing to secrecy. They would know in due time anyway, he surmised. Plus, in the event of his own absence later, be it misadventure or deliberate action of less ethical persons, there was evidence remaining of the true fate of the Lord of the Manor. "If I might have a co-signature of witness, Mr. Quinton? Perhaps you as well, Chanteuse? Given as you did assist, which I do dearly appreciate." Swamp showed Amaranthine the paper, then left it on the table and backed from it to allow access for both Quinton and the Chanteuse. He shuffled back around to the bowls, pausing over the opened and inspected heart. Giving the bowl a spin, he watched it go around and around, wobbling just a little from the not-quite-perfect circle in which it rotated. "This is truly an interesting turn of events, is it not? Especially considering the timing. Hmm."

The heart was still spinning on the table, slowing a little, showing the squishy details pointed out from before in a continuing turn. Swamp vocalized a thought that had been nagging him. "Sir? If it suits the will of the House; my diagnostic talents lay in areas other than just anatomy. With the approval of the resident Mechanician, might I be permitted to examine the motorized conveyance that fatally malfunctioned earlier this evening? I suspect something may be learned."

"He isn't the brightest tool in the shed I think." Captain Moss answered to the voice of Sister Penance, as he tried to look around the room, he could feel the slight chill of the room now as well, which was probably something that was really bad. Captain Moss nodded slightly he thought it was best to just get out of the room, but not stray to far at least to somewhere else that was a little bit warmer. The bed that was on the other end of the room didn't look like it had any kind of blanket on it either. "I agree if we can find a way to get out of the room, we shouldn't stray to far. I'd rather not piss off any of the servants or the other residences in here." Captain Moss said with a slight shrug.

Captain Moss didn't think that any of the servants would even notice or remember that any of them would be all up here either at Rave's voiced her own thoughts. "I don't think the servants would check in on us for a few hours, anyway they would probably be to busy trying to find candles and the like to light up the rooms. Or finding whatever fireplaces there are and get them started to as well." Captain Moss shrugged slightly as he tried to continue to look around the room, for anything that could try and help them open the door.

Blush moved lightly as she tried to find the door. She did not trust anyone in this home, but she knew that if there was any hope of getting out of this room without freezing to death, it would mean having to put her concerns aside. And truth be told, she did not trust the ones outside of this room more than the ones inside. Especially since it was clear that they were brought here for this purpose. Blush would have words with the lady of the house if she saw her again. Would it not have been better to just throw them out of the house to the elements? Instead, they held them here. Torture by another name.

”I believe we are in this ourselves. I doubt anyone is concerned about us during this power outage or they surely would have rushed to the door. And I highly doubt Mr. Titian or whoever the hell he is plans to find help for us. Our best bet is to find the door and see about getting it open or at least finding another way out of this room.”

She moved towards where she thought the door was, only to find herself feeling the wall. Still, it was better than tripping and stumbling over the other people and she could move her way towards the door by feeling against the wall if all else failed.

Well it seemed, to her at least, that Dr. Swamp had figured out how the Lord of the Manor had died. She wasn't exactly trying to pay too close of attention to the body but from the sound of things he had done what was asked of him. She didn't know how the man died and frankly right then she was just glad she was in the room with someone that she didn't suspect killed the man. In her mind there was no way he could have. He had been with her most of the evening, that or with Walnut apparently during the other incident. The one that lead up to him getting shot. During those times the Lord of the Manor hadn't been around. She had been around the Lord of the Manor as much as Swamp had and she knew she hadn't killed him. She doubt she would have the stomach to kill someone even if she had to, which she hoped it would never come to that.

Being in the room with an open body was bad enough. As Swamp asked for her signature, she quirked a brow. She had no idea why he needed it but she offered help, if this is what he thought was help so be it. Thing was, she had been trying to keep her distance from the body, for good reason. As she stepped over she couldn't take her eyes off the organs, the open body, the cracked bones, the dead man on the table, the blood, the.. God everything. Amaranthine started to turn green in the face. Trying to push the bubbling in her throat back down she reached out to sign the paper but started gagging. Dry heaving at first. Keep it together woman she thought to herself but it wasn't happening. She barely made it over to an open bucket before planting her head into it and it sounding like she was about to lose any breakfast or lunch she had had that day.


* Remember, roll request can be placed at the bottom of the post and results will be posted in the next update. Those in confinement - remember it is dark, so unless someone says something out loud you don't know what the others are doing. Unless you get a roll, you cannot move. (Seriously, it's dark, you gotta get a roll to take steps to see if you can avoid running into people, the walls, etc. Even those with low light attributes and skills need rolls, that only helps the roll, it doesn't make it an auto success.)

Quinton signed the paper and was about to hand it over to Amaranthine, glad this was over. "Yes, we might be able to arrange something. I will ask the Lady," he said dryly before his head snapped to the side. His brow perking up as as Amaranthine started to dry heave. It wasn't a pleasant sound, especially coming from her. The woman seemed to wear all her emotions and feelings on her sleeve. This included when she didn't feel well. Her dry heaving and gagging was making him gag just out of reflex and he wasn't a weak willed man. He had seen death and things much worse than this but that was how things went sometimes. When one person started, it could start a chain reaction and it didn't matter how well people did normally the lemming mentality took over. Covering his mouth he took a step back.

"You know what, this should do. Stay here, I'll see what I can do about finding something to settle her stomach," Quinton said before making a hasty exit from the room. Picking up a lantern as he went to light his way as he closed the door behind him. He would need the small light to get back to the stairs and make his way to the lower floors. There was a loud click to the door once it was sealed. He had obviously locked it, then there was a second click. He had no only locked the door knob but a second lock above it. He wasn't letting them get out.

Over in Confinement, Moss was trying to get over to a door or to find a way out. Perception can be a hard thing in the dark and one must go off instincts. This ends up being something based off wisdom this time. Now while he is trying to find a door or a way out he is finding it hard to get around the room. The darkness makes it hard. Now he bumps into the edge of the bed in the room but manages to stop himself instead of falling on top of it. Feeling his way around it, he will be able to find the west wall just behind the bed this round.


Darkness is never fun to try to get around in but some people do have a better time of it than others. Thing is, doesn't matter how used to something someone is, it still takes time and thinking. (Something that Titian might not always be the best at.) Then again, sometimes things just become muscle memory. Like taking it slow, not rushing things, having patience. Those things can help. Placing one hand up on the low ceiling, Titian reaches out in front of himself and steps towards slowly. One step at a time, making sure to keep his feet planted fully on the floor with each step and only sliding his boot forward slowly and quietly as he goes. He doesn't want to fall through some hole in the floor that could be there, or make too much noise and have attention being brought to him.

Normally he likes attention but right now, this feels more like work than it does a good time in some tavern with a drink in his hand. So big mouth keeps it quiet this round and keeps pushing forward. He knows he needs to get to the other side of the room, find another door, find a way out, at least from up here. He's figured out he isn't going in the best direction but he does know he is most likely headed in a direction that could help perhaps if he just keeps moving. The journey from one side of the room to the other is slow going but by the end of the round he has managed to find the other side and find a door knob. Turning it slowly, he finds this one is unlocked. They probably didn't bother with this side. Bracing himself he turned the knob some more. Doing what he could to be patient and not make any noise.

Cobalt's headache had haunted him practically since he had arrived at the house, and the darkness that he was still surrounded by wasn't easing it. He had suggested that people try and find their way to a door, but instead one of his fellow guests seemed fixated on what they should do once they had escaped the room, fixating on whether they should stay close so as to not offend the household. It was all very well discussing the morals of their situation, but Cobalt wasn't planning to sit idly by while they discussed the ethics until they froze to death. He hadn't been with the group long enough to recognise the female voice that was talking, but he wasn't all that impressed by her train of thought, whoever she was.

At least some of the other guests seemed concerned with the practicalities of their escape, although whether they were acting on it, Cobalt still had no way of knowing in the darkness. Regardless, it was time for Cobalt to practice what he had preached. He had a wall at his back, so he wouldn't be left to fumble blindly in the dark. It stood to reason that Cobalt would only be able to travel so far along the wall before he reached a door, although whether that door would actually offer a way out of the room, Cobalt didn't know. Pressing himself against the wall as best he could, Cobalt began to move along it as best he could.

Thankfully, Cobalt hadn't moved far from the door, and he managed to find his way along the wall with relative ease. Considering it was the door they had come through, Cobalt suspected it would still be locked, but it was a start. And it was certainly more than anyone else seemed to have done. Even if they weren't going to do anything with the information, Cobalt figured he may as well share his progress with the other guests. They were in this together after all.

"I can check the door we came through. If someone can get to the other door as well, then we should be able to get out of here."

Walnut chuckled slightly at the well timed pun of a male voice - Moss, if she recalled correctly. She was unfortunately able to most easily identify the voices of Amaranthine, Swamp, and Titian at this point, so it was a bit of guess work as to who was talking. Blush at least had the distinct habit of calling everyone petal, helping to distinguish her speech. "I agree," she called out. "The servants will have higher priorities than us. Most likely, they will assume that we are not going anywhere with the door locked and will likely be trying to bring light back to the ladies of the household." She heard Blush speak again and Walnut was mostly in agreement. However instead of trying to find her way to the door, she remembered the dreadful looking bed that had been in the room. Perhaps there would be something there to help them get one of the doors open.

Taking slow, careful, and measured steps, Walnut moved in what she believed to be the direction of that bed. She was calm and collected as she moved, not bumping into anyone else or hitting the wall. She felt the bed once she reached it and smiled slightly to herself. Hopefully, there would be something here to help them with their situation. "I am searching the bed, perhaps there will be some concealed tool here that may be of use," she said, in the interest of sharing information and winning this group's trust. She had to wonder just what had caused the light to go out and she imagined that there was perhaps some connection to the blackmailer that had brought them all here. She just didn't know what yet.

"Well if he decided to be dumb and such and took off out of the room that is his own fault. Not to mention even when leaving he was majorly contradicting himself with everything he does... Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I'm leaning towards that being a bad thing. He first declared that he wasn't leaving this room, then decides to go take off randomly leaving the rest of us. I personally hope he gets into some sort of trouble, since he didn't listen to his own words before he acted," Penance said into the darkness once it was fully established that yes, Titian was the one who had left the room for whatever reason. She doubted even he understood what thoughts were going through his own head.

She listened to the words of the others, nodding her head slightly in the darkness even though no one could see her. It was a bit annoying that no one had any sort of light source that could prove useful to them. Without a light source they were essentially just standing around in the dark, doing nothing at all. A few others from the sound of it were wandering around in the darkness, managing to navigate around or something. "Well hopefully you might be able to find a light source, since finding our way out of here is going to be a bit difficult if we can't see our hands in front of our faces at this rate."

Darkness... it was so damn dark in here right now. While the presence of hte voices of hte rest of the occupants of the attic gave in a level of reassurance that she wasn't alone in here, it also made the place rather unnerving. The way people could be around, but you couldn't see any of them. Hell she couldn't see her own hands even! It was going to get colder fast, and there wasn't a way out found yet. Well Titian seemed to have gotten out, so at least one door might be open? She looked around in vain, as her hand was placed on her injured leg. Everyone seemed to have their own task they were wanting to do, but they more or less denied the possibility of calling someone to come with a light.

"Be careful with that bed, it didn't look like the safest thing!" Rave called back to Walnut when the woman said she was going to be checking the bed. She was concerned about the survival of hte people here even if she wasn't as approving of some of their behaviors. With the others going for hte doors, she wondered why Walnut was going for the bed instead though. What sort of tool would the bed have? Honestly on this she was in agreement with Penance, they needed some light, or even if they left the attic it would be hard. Like how would htey go down the stairs without a light? Since she wasn't going to be moving much right now, she tried to figure out a way to maybe get a light going. There surely was a way to get some sparks or something to get a fire going!

" If only there was a flint and steel..." She mumbled as she tried remembering and thinking of other ways to maybe get those sparks. She was ready to burn a piece of her clothing if she had to.

Captain Moss nodded a little bit atleast someone did agree with him that the servants really wouldn't careless about what would happen to them anyway. "The sooner we get out of here the better." Moss said mostly to himself as he started to stumble a little bit more around the room to find anything of use, hearing Cobalt's voice, as far as he could tell there was only one way out of the room. And that was the door that Titian had locked them all in and it was the room that they came in from. "I don't think there is any other way out of the room other than the door that our lovely friend locked us out of." Moss pointed out as he continued to stumble through the room.

Captain Moss then bumped himself against the bed that he had seen when they all had came in, looking around as he blindly tried to find something of use. "I managed to find our lovely worn out bed." Captain Moss said, as he tried to search through the darkness so far he really couldn't find anything that would be able to be of use. Since he found the bed then he knew that the west wall wasn't that far off either which was probably good then if he couldn't find anything then he could blindly stumble around that wall for anything.

In that moment, several things happened in the room without the input or influence of the good Doctor. He regarded it objectively, with crossed arms and with an inquisitive look about his face. The again, he always did seem to have an inquisitive look in one form of another. It could be nothing. His big surprise of the evening (aside from getting shot) was seeing Amaranthine with her head in a bucket making the most interesting visceral noises. Really, it was magnificent the way her internals worked in full concert with one another, only to have the example of gastrointestinal gear-shifting waylaid by retching. But even in doing so, she demonstrated a superior mastery of her vocals. Some people couldn't pull it off quite as well as others. Swawmp carefully thanked the man for carrying his offer to the Lady of the Manor, and looked back to his impromptu lab assistant.

As help was sent for by the houseman, Quinton, Swamp found himself alone with the Chanteuse. It would not do for her to be in poor condition, not one bit. Perhaps, in his bag of tricks and esoteric ramblings, Swamp might have something more immediate to help out the young songbird in her hour of need. Naturally he would have to find out specifics of her ailment beforehand. Limping over to the woman, Swamp leaned over just a tad and spoke in the softer tone, "Ah, Amaranthine? If you would, perhaps I might be able to do something for you?" He leaned heavily upon his cane. The options at his disposal in the lab might not be the best ever, but the Doctor still might be able to find something to help out until Quinton returned.

Cobalt's hand traced the door frame for a moment, eyes closing to concentrate on what he could feel, even though it made no difference in the pitch black. Finally, he moved to the door itself. If they were going to get out of the room, it stood to reason that the doors offered the best avenue for that. As he felt for the doorknob itself, to test if the door was still locked, his headache suddenly spiked. The pain was like a lance through the front of his skull, and Cobalt's couldn't help but wince, one hand instinctively going to grip his forehead. While he waited for the pain to subside, he couldn't help but overhear what his fellow guests were saying. What he heard did nothing to improve his mood.

Titian had come across as an oaf, but by the sounds of it, he may well have been the smartest one in the room. Two of his fellow guests had apparently found their way to the bed, but for what purpose? They were in a room that had been labelled as 'Confinement', and had clearly been imprisoned within it, so he doubted there would be a concealed tool hidden within the room. For a start, it would seriously undermine the effectiveness of the room in confining anyone. The only other male voice in the room seemed to speaking nonsense as well. No way out of the room other than the door that their friend had locked them out of? Trying to unravel that certainly wasn't helping Cobalt's headache. There had clearly been two doors in the room. The one that they had entered through, that Cobalt was now standing beside, and the one that Titian had been loitering by. If the man didn't realise that, then he was clearly just a pretty face.

The two guests fumbling about by the bed, Cobalt could just about tolerate, because at least in their own misguided way they were trying to help. It was the other two that were grating on him. Sitting there and lamenting their situation while doing nothing to change it. Cobalt's impatience had been bubbling for a while, and when he heard one of the guests, a female voice he couldn't place, suggesting they look for a light source, as if that was a revolutionary idea, he couldn't stop himself from letting off some steam, gritting his teeth as he spoke, keeping his voice as level and controlled as he could. If they needed to be led to the water to drink, then he was going to lead them, even if he had to drag them by their collars.

"By all means, ladies, you are more than welcome to help. Unless someone is able to magic light from thin air, then we need to focus on getting out of this room., so if someone can check the door that Titian was standing by, I'm sure we would all be grateful."

The sounds of holding back the probable tide of vomit kept emanating from Amaranthine as she bent over the container. Dry heaves that threatened to turn into something more drastic and volatile at any moment. Quinton seemed to not want to be there when she finally threw up and left the room, left them alone. Amaranthine could hear the door open, it close, then one lock, and a second. The dry heaving continued for a few more moments until Swamp spoke. It was at that time, Amaranthine stopped and righted herself. Taking a deep calming breath before looking over at the doctor. "Please hold your applause until the end of the performance," she said with a bashful grin. "It would take a bit more than that to ruffle my stomach," she admitted. Not that she liked the sight of the Lords entrails but it was no enough to make her actually want to throw up. The woman was hell of a performer when she chose to be. Coughing she cleared her throat a bit more as she looked around the room. She would have adored to have a drink of water right then but she figured they had little time.

"People dying, being murdered, people vanishing, lights going out, I can only take so much," she said as she reached into her corset between her breasts and pulled out a ring of keys. Downstairs she had bumped into Quinton when she was going to see what the screaming had been about, apparently the man didn't notice that she had lifted his keys from his body. "A lady must be prepared," she said as she held them up in the low light of the room. "I wouldn't risk the main door but there are others, we should check before he returns." There were three others that she remembered when they came in. One to the north end of the room, one on the southeast, and one at the west. It was only a suggestion and it was clear there was panic now on Amaranthine's features. The fear wasn't an act but apparently the need to throw up was.


*Remember, roll request can be placed at the bottom of the post and results will be posted in the next update. Still dark, so remember the general rule of thumb, unless someone says something you don't know what they are doing. Rolls for movement because there is a group, have to see if you bump into someone or something.

While Rave would love to be able to think of some way to start a fire so they can have light in the room, nothing is coming to mind. She doesn't think anything on her own person could do the trick and she doesn't know what the others have on them. Nothing that people were wearing sticks out in her mind to help with the task either. Moss is going to have a little better luck. Feeling around the bed, he is going to note the metal frame and the overly dry mattress. It has a slight scent of charring to it. Feeling under the bed, it is easy for Moss to feel where the bottom of the mattress was burned at one point. They might be able to use some of these materials to start a fire but it would take a closer feeling. To do that though, someone is going to have to flip the mattress over to get a better feel for it since it is hard with reaching underneath it. It's a start.


Titian took a deep breath, slowly pulling the door open to the next room. Not really sure where he was going. He nearly stepped out when he heard foot steps and someone bump into something. Stopping in his tracks, he peeked out the door and spotted a light. It was Quinton, running his head into one of the rafters. Freezing, he watched the man rub his head by the low light of the lamp Quinton was carrying before making his way down the stairs they had been lead up. Waiting for the light to fade, Titian opened the door more, slowly stepping into the next room. Okay, well that was one guard that wasn't on the attic floor but where there others? He knew there hadn't been any in the room with them in the Confinement room but that didn't mean there hadn't been one posted outside the main door.

Think Titian, think. Did you hear other foot steps? Would they have heard you breaking something? Would someone have said something when Quinton hit his head? This was not his strong suit, so try as he might the man wasn't coming up with any great plan of attack or escape right then. He just kind of stood there in a bit of a stupor in the south end of the east room wondering what to do next. Should he back track now that he saw Quinton leave? Should he follow the man and see where he goes? Should he work his way around and see if there is a guard on the other door? Should he try to find Swamp and Amaranthine? He had told the woman to stay out of it, tried to warn her back downstairs when she had bumped into Quinton but she didn't listen. No one seemed to listen to him. Hell, he didn't listen to himself. Okay Titian, think think think...

The situation was proving to be headache inducing and Blush hated having headaches. If they did not get out soon they risked freezing in the night and that would just please the people of this mansion, wouldn’t it? Leaving guests they invited then pretended to not know anything about only to have them die in an “accident” because of a power outage and no heating. That just figured. Well, Blush would not back down without a fight. If she got out she had a few choice words for the people here, family owned home or not.

She felt along the wall she found and carefully traced it back to the opposite of where she assumed the other door was. She could make out voices, but could she place names to them? Not really. But she didn’t care at this moment in time to make sure she knew their names. Her first concern was getting out of this blasted room. Thankfully, she managed to not run into anyone or stumble as she came across a door. She felt it to be sure, and confirmed it was indeed the door.

”I found the other door. I will attempt to get it open myself, but if one could find tools or something else in this room to aid in that, it would be most appreciated.” Though she doubted they could find anything, perhaps she would be lucky? Fat chance of that.

Walnut was searching the bed slowly and methodically with her hands, despite the lack of sight. She heard another speaking near her about having reached it and she was slightly annoyed at that. She preferred to search this individually, as to eliminate the chances of them running into each other - and she did not know if she could trust any of these people in the dark. Sure, none of them were Swamp or Amaranthine or Titian, but still, she hardly knew them. She would work with them, but she did not fancy the idea of touching one of them by accident in the total blackness they were stuck in.

However, during her search of the bed she felt the metal cross sections on it. She heard someone was over by the door as well. "I believe if we ply off one of the metal cross sections, we can use it to pry open the door," Walnut explained. "The gentleman near me - can you feel the cross sections with your hands? Between the two of us, perhaps we can get one of them off," she suggested. Working together and hopefully in unison would make fast work of this, or at least, so she hoped. There was a chance that the voice near the door would manage to open it, but with the sort of characters running around this place, having some metal at their disposal may very well save their lives.