[IC] ⟣ The Golden Tree Hotel ⟢

[AeonSpiral]

Caroline having waited for the others to exit the limo and head off pulls out a camel Turkish royal and lights up. She burns it down to the butt, flicks it with a flourish and stamps it out with her boot. She enters the hotel expecting someone to carry her bags in, of course her designer purse is tightly pressed against her side.

Why would an actress be invited to a place like this? The stationary of the invitation was nicer than this dump she thinks to herself

Approaching the desk she gives the clerk a once over and feels a frown express itself on her face.

"Hi, Caroline Shaw, I received this invitation to stay here for a big event, of sorts. Can I have my key?"

[Sombrero]

"Caroline Shaw?... Huh, sounds familiar." the clerk says as she types the name into her computer and looks over the result. "Room 930. Third floor in the far Northeast wing, out back. It's got a great view, and the pool isn't far away either."

She holds out a keycard for her. Well, really, it just looks like a thin rectangular piece of glass. Just as heavy, with the same sort of edges, but oddly warm and bendable, like a plastic card.

[AeonSpiral]

@Sombrero

"I assume my bags will be taken care of? My wardrobe is worth a King's ransom you know."

[HHHippo]

Nicholas nods, with a raised eyebrow. Kinda weird for two people to be crowding around a note.
"I'll see you two later then." The russian then states, and heads up to the second floor, and into his room.

[Sombrero]

@AeonSpiral

The clerk nods, "Er, yes. I can get a bellboy to help you with your luggage, if you need."

@HHHippo

It's a fairly roomy space, decorated in the angular, "ultra-modern" designs of the 1920s. His balcony does indeed overlook a very large garden with a very large, somehow oak-sized pomegranate tree in the middle of it, benches along the sides. No one seems to be in it at the moment, so a gardener has taken the opportunity to make sure all the plants are up to snuff. Nothing unusual, save for the big burlap sack next to him.

[AeonSpiral]

@HHHippo

Caroline takes note of the absurdly tall gentleman leaving the lobby and noticed the other 2 guests huddled near each other, obviously very intently discussing something.

She waits for a response from the desk clerk about her luggage before she heads off to her room. She inspects her keycard as well.

How does this open a room? Hopefull it doesn't shatter.

[Sombrero]

The card works fairly normally in the slot. It's unclear exactly how or why, though. Her room is fancy, but not extremely. Decorated like something out of the Great Gatsby. It even has a balcony overlooking the vast, grassy landscape, which is currently half-swallowed by the fog.

[AeonSpiral]

Caroline sits on a chair and looks around the room.

Eh, not bad I guess. I wonder if all the rooms look like this. Luckily there's a balcony. Gotta have a smoke

She walks over and opens the door walks out and lights up a smoke as she takes in the view.

What's with this for? Doesn't seem cool enough for such a dense fog like this

[DJAtomika]

@Sombrero@Eviledd1984

"Found anything?"

Elise called to Jonathan as she approached the front desk again.

"Excuse me, miss. Do you happen to know if any of the staff here go by the name "G"?"

[VioletRose]

A tall, young woman strolled calmly in through the doors of the Golden Tree hotel. Her black heels clicking loudly on the highly polished floors. Steel gray eyes peered over the top of purple lensed Ray Bans that sat low on her nose. Her light gray pencil skirt clung tightly to her womanly curves while the matching blazer was allowed to hang open, revealing the light purple button up she wore beneath it.

With one bag carried under her arm and the other being wheeled across the floor behind her, Lilith strolled calmly towards the front desk. She quirked a neat eyebrow as she took in the initial view of the hotel. Reaching the front desk, the woman produced the invitation, holding it between two fingers. As she waited for her room she tapped her black manicured nails gently on the front desk. Quickly she ran her fingers along the polished wood and looked at the end result. Having lost interested, her eyes diverted elsewhere as she rubbed her fingers together. Everything was immaculately clean.

"Lilith Autorian." She said finally, the slightest hint of an accent present in her voice. It sounded almost southern.

[Sombrero]

@AeonSpiral

The air is damp and humid, which might be the reason why she wasn't feeling particularly chilly. Without any particular speed, the wind seemed to whistle as she opened the door. She can also hear the whistling of someone under the balconies. Presumably pruning the bushes, given the intermittent clicks.

@DJAtomika

The clerk looked puzzled.

"Ah, no. There are a few guys with names that start with G that worked around here. There were a lot of Gary's doing building work, and a man named Griffin was the decorator... I might be missing some." An idea seemed to visibly flicker across her face.

"There was a drifter who called himself Gonzo that visited this place a lot while it was being rebuilt. Maybe even before then, too. He liked to write in a notebook he carried around..."

She turned to another woman, (ever intent on doing her job,) whose name, it seemed, was Lilith Autorian.

@VioletRose

"Room 327, it's on the ground floor in the northwest wing." She gestures behind her in the room's general direction, handing her a dark brown, rough-feeling card. A bit like a smoother variety of sandpaper.

[AeonSpiral]

@Sombrero

She listened momentarily at the whistling and tried to look over the edge to determine its location.

(if she can't see the person): she returns to the room and lies down on the bed for a moment before getting up to look around the room to see it's odds and ends.

After searching the room she'll head to her restroom to freshen up and inspect the shower/tub.

[Eviledd1984]

@DJAtomika

"Nothing yet...." Jonathan said form the chair where he was sitting on,He kept his eyes on the note wondering the reason someone could have wrote these notes to the group.He also wondered why the note was given to them or perhaps their is others in the hotel who have gotten this note.

[VioletRose]

Lilith produced a smile to the hostess, nodding her head as she took the card from her. The look was almost mechanical because it did not seem to reach her eyes. Twirling the card in her fingers, Lilith turn to walk towards her room but was met by a smiling busboy. He moved to grab the large wheeled back from Lilith's hands but stopped at the look she gave him. The neat eyebrow was quirked once more and she looked him up and down slowly over the top of her purple Ray Bans.

Retracting his hand he stepped out of the woman's way. Nodding at the boy she moved to walk past him but stopped once she stood beside him. She produced a $10 bill and slid it into his front pocket of his charming jacket. "For the trouble." She said and patted him on the shoulder. She made her way to her own room.

Once everything was tucked away, Lilith slid off her blazer and laid it over her plush bed. She strolled out of her room, carefully taking in her surroundings. Her RayBans still in place on her face, this time they were pushed up properly. She hummed gently to herself as she moved towards the front desk.

"Dear, do you know where I might be able to get a drink around here?" She questioned, sliding her glasses off finally.

[DJAtomika]

@Sombrero

"Do you know much about this Gonzo fellow? Like which room he was in, or if he left anything behind?"

One hundred percent curious now, Elise leaned on the counter. This mystery was intriguing her, if also scaring her a little. Mysterious notes from nowhere... What if this Gonzo person was still around?

The thought sent shivers down her spine. A troubling thought, to be sure.

[Sombrero]

@AeonSpiral

The gardener was well hidden below the balcony, it seemed.

The room itself, she'll find, is very art-deco. Lots of geometric patterns, lots of fashionable right-angles. It looked dated and futuristic at the same time. She would find that there's a free champange in a bucket of ice in the mini-fridge. The bathtub is one of the few non-euclidean objects in the room, of the clawed variety. it's quite roomy, and has a shower extension and a one-way curtain.

@DJAtomika

"Well, he was pretty young-looking for a drifter. Probably fresh out of college..." The clerk looked around, making sure nobody was in hearing range. She breathed a bit easier as Lilith headed off to her room.

"He was a nut. He really, really hated this place for some reason. Threatened the contractor with a shovel. We called the police and never heard from him again. We have this place checked by security regularly, though. There's no way he'll be back until this place gets abandoned again, which it won't." She tried to smile reassuringly, "Why are you asking about people whose names start with G again?"

The other guest then returned.

@VioletRose

"There's champagne in all the mini-fridges for guests over 21. There's also a restaurant/bar in the Northern wing." The Clerk says, "Or the North-western wing, or..." She rubbed her forehead, "I'm not great with directions at this angle. It's the wing to the right when you come in from the front door."

[AeonSpiral]

@Sombrero

After seeing the tub she goes and grabs the champagne and decides to run some hot water in the tub. Melting away for a bit and getting somewhat inebriated seems rather enticing. She lets her red dress fall to the floor and tosses her under garments wherever they may land. She opens the champagne and takes a long chug before stepping into the water. Having tested its temperature she dims the light and sinks into the tub.

She pulls the curtain and begins to dive into the bottle. As the alcohol hits her system she skin's further down into the water. Soon forgetting the water is even running at all.

Her mind goes back to a memory of Mike running her a bath before bed one night. Back before his deployment. A tear runs down her face and joins the rising water level of the tub. She pounds another 1/3 of the bottle while thinking about how much she needed him here, now.

She keeps drinking, and the water keeps rising. Her thoughts become scattered and her limbs become less responsive as she becomes more Intoxicated. Soon the water is just below her chin and nearly to the top of tub, but at this point she doesn't seem to care one way or another. Somehow she keeps the bottle out of the rising water and every motion of putting it to her lips sends water over the edge of the tub and onto the floor.

It seems she'd give anything in this moment to just drown herself, with either of the liquids splashing around her face, the bottle is magically almost empty at this point and the steaming hot bathroom has become a receptacle for the overflowing contents of the tub. All while Caroline lays drunk in the water.

[Sombrero]

@AeonSpiral

Oddly enough, the gardener's whistling can be heard, even through the water, quite clearly, as if it were thin air.

The water feels somewhat thicker than usual. Gritty, almost.

[AeonSpiral]

@Sombrero

Maybe it's the alcohol, or the heat and steam, or even a combo of them both, but that whistling...

She opens her eyes and pulls the curtain back a bit just to make sure she was alone in the bathroom. Though this proves to be a difficult task considering her level of intoxication.

She almost falls over the side of the tub before regaining her composure.

I know I left that door open. she thinks in her head as she wonders why the door is now closed. And who the Fuck is whistling?
She keeps her eyes locked in the door for a moment as she tries to hear for footsteps or moving items.

"If you're the bellboy bringing my luggage just leave it by the bed and leave my room please. I'll bring you a tip later"

Is what it sounds like to Caroline she says,but it comes out as more of a drunken rambling. She still keeps her eyes on the door the best she can through the steam and drunkenness.

[Sombrero]

@AeonSpiral

The inside of the room is consumed by beige fog, every surface is gritty, covered in sand... If she looked behind her, she would find that sand seemed to have aggregated at the bottom of the bath. She left an imprint of her face and feet in it as she got up. Light poured in a bright beam from the door lens. The lens itself seems to have been removed, however...

The whistling still emanated from below the balcony, crisp and clear as ever. "I Feel Pretty" by West-Side story... That's not a good sign.