A sleek black limo crawled slowly up the gravel driveway in front of the large mansion ahead. The building was clearly ancient, the stone yellowed and ivy covering its cracked face. Trees surrounded the building but many were dead or dying, with only a few straggling leaves clinging to life. Seravee looked down at the invitation in her hand. This was definitely the place. As the limo pulled to a stop, her chauffeur got up and opened her door for her. Seravee stepped out into the waning sunlight, adjusting her tight knee length scarlet dress before turning to her chauffeur. “Thanks Shy, grab our bags and lets head in.” She nodded at the boy and sauntered over towards the main doors, leaving the 18-year old driver to try and carry her many bags of clothing and make-up.
The sound of voices reached Shy’s ears as he stumbled through the mansion doors after his employer. He found himself in a large entranceway, where a group of people seemed to be milling about, chatting to one another. In front of him were two large staircases, curving inward and leading to the rest of the mansion. With a sigh of relief, he placed the bags on the ground and joined the others. On his left, Vordak adjusted the sleeves of his Armani suit as he spoke political nonsense at Jordan. Jordan looked as these two new strangers entered the building and gave them both a quick once over before going back to pretending to care about what Vordak was saying. To his right was a group of four, 3 men and 1 woman. Squee clung to her husband Drakel’s arm while he told measly jokes to Jorick and his boyfriend, Nat.
“Hey, are you here for the contest?” The deep voice boomed, pulling Shy’s attention over to the large man standing next to him. K-97 was a large man, with a great big smile on his face. Beside him was teenage boy who looked to be around Shy’s age.
“Sorry but I’m not actually. I work for the woman over there in the red dress.”
“Ah, so you’re just hanging around then. Well I’m K-97 and this is my younger brother, Alpha. Pleased to meet you-“
“Shy. My name is Shy. K-97 is sort of an odd name isn’t it?”
The man laughed. It was a calm deep sound that seemed to shake his chest. “The K stands for Kenneth. The 97 stands for the 97th regiment. It’s a nickname I picked up in the military.”
Shy glanced at the boy next to the military man and said, “You must be proud of your brother Alpha.” The boy simply nodded and looked down again. K-97 put his hand on Shy’s shoulder and gave him a soft look.
“It’s not you, he’s just really quiet. You might even call him… Shy.” K-97 let out a loud laugh and then continued, “He’s one of those intellectual types. A lot smarter than I am yet so much younger. I received two invites so I gave the second to him thinking it would give us the advantage.”
“But what is this contest that supposedly everyone is entering?” Shy questioned.
“You’re about to find out.”
The three guys spun around to see a short hooded figure standing behind them. The newcomer stepped over to the mansion doors and slowly began to close them. At the sound of the wooden doors skidding across the marble, the entranceway began to quiet down as the guests all noticed this mysterious person now amongst them.
Knightshade squinted at the figure and called out, “And who exactly are you?”
The figure clasped his hands together and said, “I am the Assistant of the Master of the House. And my Master is waiting for you.”
“What kind of name is that?” a rugged man, Mbl, called out from the back.
“It is the name with which you shall address myself and the Master if you wish to stay here and compete!” The being hissed back. Mbl’s face went pale and he stepped back, trying to disappear amongst the others. “Follow me” the man said and quickly ascended the stairs.
Seravee shot a look at Shy then quickly walked up the stairs after the Assistant. As the other all began to follow suit, Shy turned to get his boss’ bags.
A young man, well groomed and maybe around the age of 30 walked over to Shy. “Need help?” Svenn asked. Shy smiled.
“Thanks, but I should be okay.” Shy picked up the bags and the two of them began to climb the stairs, quite a ways behind the others.
Svenn turned to Shy. “So kid, you smart at all? I was thinking, and the best way to win competitions like this are to find the right allies and you seem like a pretty good guy. Would you be helpful to me at all?”
Shy frowned and replied, “Sorry but I’m not actually competing in this mystery contest.”
Svenn just chuckled. “Shame we can’t be allies. Fortunately tough it also means you aren't a threat. Svenn patted him on the shoulder and entered the dining room behind the other contestants.
The room was made entirely of stone with a large wooden table in the middle. Opposite of where Shy was standing, was another set of double doors, presumably where the chefs and food would enter from. All the seats had been taken with the exception of the head seat on the far end, and the seat next to it. Fortunately for Shy the seat next to the head spot was also next to Seravee. He sat down and Sera flashed him a smile. The Assistant stood quietly next to the table, his hood still covering most of his face.
With a loud bang, the double-doors flew open and in marched a man who looked like he was fresh out of a mafia movie. His face was pale, almost white, with a long beak shaped nose protruding from it. His hair was jet black and slicked back, hanging down to his shoulders. He was dressed in a completely black suit with a black tie. He looked every bit like the stereotypical villain in anything Shy had read or seen. He looked out over the table of guests with a smile on his face. He clasped his hands together and moved to the head of the table.
“Welcome everyone, to my humble abode!” His voice rang out loud and pure. It was powerful, demanding attention, but not harsh. “I will be your host for the competition; you may call me the Master. I sincerely hope you enjoy your stay here at Puzzle Mansion. I am assuming you all received your invitations since you’re here now” He chuckled softly.
Nat cleared his throat and the Master looked over. “I don’t mean to be rude or to interrupt, but what is this competition you speak of? We got these invitations and everything but never an explanation.”
The Master smiled and made a gesture to his assistant. The Assistant quickly left the room and the Master took his seat. “Excellent question. I wasn’t sure how many of you would show up due to the ‘mysterious’ circumstances you got invited. An invitation out of nowhere to some random mansion to compete for $1 000 000? It is suspicious. Allow me to explain.
“This is Puzzle Mansion. If you can’t infer from the name, obviously the competition will involve puzzles. I have gathered people from all different walks of life to see who it is that will rise to the challenge. I’ve invited the rich…” The Master nodded towards Seravee and Vordak.
“And the poor.” Mbl sank lower into his chair.
“I’ve invited the straight,” Squee and Drakel glanced at eachother.
“As well as the gay.” Jorick squeezed Nat’s arm.
“I’ve invited both the brave and intellectual.” He glanced over at K-97 and his brother Alpha.
“And of course, the average, middle-class citizens.” Jordan, Knightshade, and Svenn all shared a look.
“The rules of the game are simple. You solve puzzles to advance to the next round. The puzzles will usually take place in the morning but can appear at any time. You may have a couple minutes to solve them or possibly a couple hours. Whoever is able to solve the puzzle first is guaranteed a spot in the next round.”
“So how do you lose? If you’re last do you get kicked out? Is it last person standing wins?” Svenn’s voice rang out from the opposite end of the table.
The Master’s eyes darkened and a creepy smile worked its way across his face. At that moment, the Assistant reopened the doors and walked in with a silver platter, a large shiny dome covering its contents. He placed the tray before his Master and stepped aside.
“I’m very glad you asked. You see while I do enjoy a good puzzle contest, I find that they just don’t bring enough excitement to my life anymore. So In this game you don’t ‘lose’ per say, but you are… hmm how can I say this nicely… eliminated. You see, to add to the fun and spice it up a little I hired one of you to do a little job for me. Twelve of you I invited here but only eleven are real contestants. I have hired a person, just like you, to kill one of you every day.”
Gasps rang out around the room as people begin to fear for their lives. K-97 began to rise from his chair but an icy stare from the Master caused him to sit back down. Panic raged around the room.
“The game will work like this. Every day you will have a puzzle to solve. While solving the puzzle you pray to God that my little assassin does not choose you to be his prey. Every evening, you all will get to cast a single vote for whoever you believe to be the assassin among you. That person will then be executed. If it is the murderer, the game will end and anyone left alive will receive the money prize. If the person is not the murderer then the game will continue. Either catch the murderer or die. Oh and if you try to leave early, I will have 'security' kill you on the spot. Understood?”
The room was silent, but everyone slowly nodded. “Good. Now, you must understand that I am not completely unreasonable. I like games to be exciting. Here is my offer to you. Every day, the first to solve the puzzle will be granted something known as Immunity. If you receive Immunity, the other players will be unable to vote for you in our lovely killing council. Also, my assassin has been informed to leave the immune player be the following day. If you want to stay alive, you better be good at puzzles. Now, any last questions or comments before we are ready to start this competition?”
Quiet glances were thrown around the room but no one dared say a word. The Master looked at them all, an evil smile covering his face. His eyes finally rested on Shy and the seemed to shine brighter when they did. It was then that the Assistant stepped forward and turned to his Master.
“Master, you explained that there were eleven players, and one killer among the group here, however I count thirteen. Were there not only twelve invitations sent out?”
The Master continued to stare at Shy who began trembling in fear, the smile on the Master’s face causing him to break out into a nervous sweat. The Master reached forward and removed the dome from the platter in front of him. Reaching toward the plate, the Master picked up a small revolver and checked it over quickly. Shy began to shake even harder and tears began falling down his face.
“Indeed, only twelve invitations were sent out. Therefore only twelve may play.” With those words the Master stood quickly and pointed the gun at Shy. A loud bang rang out as the young chauffeur slumped forward, a bullet hole in his forehead. Shouts of terror and surprise filled the room but none was louder than Seravee’s.
“Let the game…begin!”
Players killed:
Shy – The Kickstarter – gets the game to kick off with a bang
Please send in all Night roles as well as the solution to the following puzzle:
