Post by Peregrine on Oct 24, 2021 20:59:21 GMT -6
Mini Trial 72: Halloween Hooligans!
The small group was packed awkwardly into their raincoats, trudging uphill through the thick muck that frigid October evening. The worst of the rain had abated, a fine mist now saturating the air and dripping down the muted palette of umbrellas bouncing up the hillside.
Welcome, all, to Mini Trial 72! I'm very excited.
Watch a classic childhood hazing gone tragically wrong, as a group of stupid teenagers deal with powers beyond their comprehension and disturb spirits entombed in the old ruined school building at the top of the hill—affectionately called the Last House.
Almost twenty years ago, a large portion of the Last House was destroyed during an otherwise minor nighttime earthquake. Most of the wreckage was removed and disposed of, and plans were quickly underway to rebuild and even renovate the old building. After all, it was nearly a century old, and a proud part of local history, not to mention a perfectly functional schoolhouse. However, repairs were quickly abandoned—along with the building itself—when a startling discovery was made there amongst the ruins...
Unfortunately for you, you belong to a band of debatably like-minded hooligans on a tedious expedition to the Last House, following the delivery of some hand-drawn maps from an unknown source.
It was still in living memory for most, what happened out in those hills. Not to say that anyone had seen it for themselves, but the stories still circulated here and there as a local legend. Most would say there's no point embellishing it; earthquakes weren't altogether uncommon, merely tragic. Moreso when they claimed victims. Oh, there were questions, of course.
They begin with a simple sketch of the schoolhouse...
...and quickly go on to detail the Last House's three floors, to an extent.
Proponents of certain distasteful theories would have you believe vengeful spirits inhabited the schoolhouse long before the tragedy—or even that they caused it.
The footpaths here used to be well-worn and ankle-deep, but the greenery has steadily crept in and swallowed it all down.
Along with these maps were packaged carefully-written instructions for some kind of ritual, its true purpose unknown. Your group has thus decided to follow these cryptic directives and see what happens.
With the stage set, we're ready. During a seemingly innocent exploration of the Last House, something terrible will soon occur there once again... were boredom and curiosity truly the sole motivators for this journey, or has something sinister called to one of your own?
Note to the Blackened:
You may notice I have not provided any instructions for the above-mentioned ritual. That's because, as part of the murder plan for this Mini Trial, the Blackened will be responsible for writing their very own occult ritual! The assumption is that one is using the ritual to summon or contact a ghost, but feel free to go wild with how you interpret that. Make it as simple or exhaustively complex as you like, as serious or as silly as your gross little heart desires. The instructions and materials for the ritual will be public knowledge both in and out of character. Speaking of materials...
While the tools available within the Last House are somewhat limited (read: actively decomposing), your group will be bringing in stuff from outside for use in the ritual, which you are free to use in your murder plan! Need candles? Easy. A creepy doll? No problem. A whole gas-powered chainsaw? We'll make it work.
To sign up, please reply to this thread with the following information:
Name
Age
(While I mentioned "teenagers" briefly, feel free to do whatever.)
Reason for Joining the Ritual
(Is this truly your first time visiting the Last House? Did you hear the stories from a classmate and think it's super neat? Were you double-dog dared? Or did you know someone who went missing there all those years ago?)
Picture (optional)
If you wish to be Blackened, please PM me to indicate this when you sign up.
We will operate on the following schedule:
— Signups will end 48 hours after this thread is posted (Tuesday, October 27, 11:00pm EST). The Blackened will be selected at this point. —
— Ritual instructions and murder plan will be accepted no later than 48 hours after the Blackened has been selected (Thursday, October 28, 11:00pm EST). —
— Truth Bullets will be created and posted along with Trial, hopefully opening within 18 hours (Friday, October 29, 5:00pm EST). —
— Trial will last roughly 48 hours (Sunday, October 31, 5:00pm EST). It may last slightly longer. We'll play it by ear. —
The small group was packed awkwardly into their raincoats, trudging uphill through the thick muck that frigid October evening. The worst of the rain had abated, a fine mist now saturating the air and dripping down the muted palette of umbrellas bouncing up the hillside.
Welcome, all, to Mini Trial 72! I'm very excited.
Watch a classic childhood hazing gone tragically wrong, as a group of stupid teenagers deal with powers beyond their comprehension and disturb spirits entombed in the old ruined school building at the top of the hill—affectionately called the Last House.
Almost twenty years ago, a large portion of the Last House was destroyed during an otherwise minor nighttime earthquake. Most of the wreckage was removed and disposed of, and plans were quickly underway to rebuild and even renovate the old building. After all, it was nearly a century old, and a proud part of local history, not to mention a perfectly functional schoolhouse. However, repairs were quickly abandoned—along with the building itself—when a startling discovery was made there amongst the ruins...
Unfortunately for you, you belong to a band of debatably like-minded hooligans on a tedious expedition to the Last House, following the delivery of some hand-drawn maps from an unknown source.
It was still in living memory for most, what happened out in those hills. Not to say that anyone had seen it for themselves, but the stories still circulated here and there as a local legend. Most would say there's no point embellishing it; earthquakes weren't altogether uncommon, merely tragic. Moreso when they claimed victims. Oh, there were questions, of course.
They begin with a simple sketch of the schoolhouse...
...and quickly go on to detail the Last House's three floors, to an extent.
{Ground Floor}
Author's note: Thick purple lines on the outside of walls indicate windows.
Ground Floor
Entrance: The winding dirt path leads one up a small flight of stairs, through the disproportionately large double doors, and into the main entrance. There are a pair of shelves filled with cubbies, used by students to store their footwear and other small belongings. A pair of shoes and a ratty umbrella still remain in one of the cubbies. A sign above the door by the basement stairs swears it leads to the AUDITORIUM, but beyond the decaying wooden boards is only a 20-foot drop into what used to be a gymnasium.
Bathrooms: Girls' to the North, boys' to the South. One of the boys' stall doors has a broken lock, and vexingly swings open on its own.
Teachers' Lounge: It doesn't appear as though there were ever more than three or four teachers at a time working here. The tables have been cleared. The smaller room within seems to be a more private office, maybe for parent-teacher meetings? The door to the auditorium has been boarded up here, too.
Why hadn't those children come home the day before? What were they doing in the library when it collapsed? Why, even now, can no one determine the owner of that extra pair of shoes in the long-unclaimed cubby?
Science Lab: A pair of long desks equipped with numerous drawers occupy this space. The drawers were once filled with materials suitable for rudimentary chemistry, though most of the glassware is shattered or hopelessly encrusted in mold. However, the small storage closet still contains some usable flasks, tubes, retorts, burners, microscopes, and scalpels. Yay, science!
Nurse's Office: Very little is left here. The beds have been chewed through by insects, wild animals, and the elements. The small corner desk still contains what might generously be called a first-aid kit. Use at your own risk, I guess.
Classrooms: Each of the three classrooms is packed, in some orientation, with school desks. Most are relatively modern (as of twenty years ago, you suppose), though a few antiques, the kind with a spot to hold an inkwell, still remain. The blackboards are bare and dirty. Where a desk once sat in the northernmost classroom is instead a large starburst of soot, accompanied by faint, sooty footprints between it and the door. Interestingly, the footprints lead towards the soot-marks rather than away.
Scaffolding: An obvious feature to anyone traversing the Last House, the western wall of this hallway has all but collapsed. It's covered with thick, tattered tarps which can easily be bypassed, granting access to the scaffolding which was put up in anticipation of repairs. The scaffold overlooks the quarry-like pit connected to the basement level.
Author's note: Thick purple lines on the outside of walls indicate windows.
Ground Floor
Entrance: The winding dirt path leads one up a small flight of stairs, through the disproportionately large double doors, and into the main entrance. There are a pair of shelves filled with cubbies, used by students to store their footwear and other small belongings. A pair of shoes and a ratty umbrella still remain in one of the cubbies. A sign above the door by the basement stairs swears it leads to the AUDITORIUM, but beyond the decaying wooden boards is only a 20-foot drop into what used to be a gymnasium.
Bathrooms: Girls' to the North, boys' to the South. One of the boys' stall doors has a broken lock, and vexingly swings open on its own.
Teachers' Lounge: It doesn't appear as though there were ever more than three or four teachers at a time working here. The tables have been cleared. The smaller room within seems to be a more private office, maybe for parent-teacher meetings? The door to the auditorium has been boarded up here, too.
Why hadn't those children come home the day before? What were they doing in the library when it collapsed? Why, even now, can no one determine the owner of that extra pair of shoes in the long-unclaimed cubby?
Science Lab: A pair of long desks equipped with numerous drawers occupy this space. The drawers were once filled with materials suitable for rudimentary chemistry, though most of the glassware is shattered or hopelessly encrusted in mold. However, the small storage closet still contains some usable flasks, tubes, retorts, burners, microscopes, and scalpels. Yay, science!
Nurse's Office: Very little is left here. The beds have been chewed through by insects, wild animals, and the elements. The small corner desk still contains what might generously be called a first-aid kit. Use at your own risk, I guess.
Classrooms: Each of the three classrooms is packed, in some orientation, with school desks. Most are relatively modern (as of twenty years ago, you suppose), though a few antiques, the kind with a spot to hold an inkwell, still remain. The blackboards are bare and dirty. Where a desk once sat in the northernmost classroom is instead a large starburst of soot, accompanied by faint, sooty footprints between it and the door. Interestingly, the footprints lead towards the soot-marks rather than away.
Scaffolding: An obvious feature to anyone traversing the Last House, the western wall of this hallway has all but collapsed. It's covered with thick, tattered tarps which can easily be bypassed, granting access to the scaffolding which was put up in anticipation of repairs. The scaffold overlooks the quarry-like pit connected to the basement level.
{Basement}
Basement
Electrical Generator: This large space is mostly empty, save for a pair of sizeable natural gas electrical generators and a fusebox. The lock on the gate blocking the generators has been broken, granting easy access.
Darkroom: This small room is protected by two heavy doors which seal with the floor to allow no light to pass through. Within are all the tools needed to take and develop traditional photographs; the moisture from the water and developing fluid has led to some unfortunate fungal growth, though. Strings spanning wall to wall are clipped with old photographs so streaked and dampened as to be unrecognizable. The only source of light here is a small, dim red lightbulb which illuminates only barely enough to walk around without tripping over your own two feet.
Band Room: A spacious hall occupied chiefly by a very out-of-tune grand piano. The cupboards to the West contain what appear to be donated musical instruments such as recorders, trumpets, and a few warped and deeply stained violins.
Theatre: This small stage room's walls are mostly rubble, leaving only the one separating it from the Art Room. The small wooden stage is still cheerily decorated with a crimson curtain, though its floor sags as if ready to split in two when you step on it.
Art Room: The other room easily identified by its ruined walls. It contains a small round platform on which a model would presumably stand. Surrounding it are three chairs with as many easels, one of which still bears a canvas. Whatever was being painted has since been torn and eaten away by time.
Changing Rooms: A pair of modest changing rooms are each filled with tall lockers and a pair of private standing showers. The water runs the colour of rust.
Pit: The most easily noticed feature of the Last House is the large pit which once contained, on its basement level at least, a gymnasium and a substantial swimming pool. What little water still in the pool is from rain, and brings with it heaps of dirt, leaves, small branches, and the occasional decaying squirrel. The area around is covered with old supplies, presumably intended to begin rebuilding the space. The scaffolding on the ground floor finds its supports on the east wall here, though there's no apparent way to climb the twenty feet up from here without assistance.
Basement
Electrical Generator: This large space is mostly empty, save for a pair of sizeable natural gas electrical generators and a fusebox. The lock on the gate blocking the generators has been broken, granting easy access.
Darkroom: This small room is protected by two heavy doors which seal with the floor to allow no light to pass through. Within are all the tools needed to take and develop traditional photographs; the moisture from the water and developing fluid has led to some unfortunate fungal growth, though. Strings spanning wall to wall are clipped with old photographs so streaked and dampened as to be unrecognizable. The only source of light here is a small, dim red lightbulb which illuminates only barely enough to walk around without tripping over your own two feet.
Band Room: A spacious hall occupied chiefly by a very out-of-tune grand piano. The cupboards to the West contain what appear to be donated musical instruments such as recorders, trumpets, and a few warped and deeply stained violins.
Theatre: This small stage room's walls are mostly rubble, leaving only the one separating it from the Art Room. The small wooden stage is still cheerily decorated with a crimson curtain, though its floor sags as if ready to split in two when you step on it.
Art Room: The other room easily identified by its ruined walls. It contains a small round platform on which a model would presumably stand. Surrounding it are three chairs with as many easels, one of which still bears a canvas. Whatever was being painted has since been torn and eaten away by time.
Changing Rooms: A pair of modest changing rooms are each filled with tall lockers and a pair of private standing showers. The water runs the colour of rust.
Pit: The most easily noticed feature of the Last House is the large pit which once contained, on its basement level at least, a gymnasium and a substantial swimming pool. What little water still in the pool is from rain, and brings with it heaps of dirt, leaves, small branches, and the occasional decaying squirrel. The area around is covered with old supplies, presumably intended to begin rebuilding the space. The scaffolding on the ground floor finds its supports on the east wall here, though there's no apparent way to climb the twenty feet up from here without assistance.
Proponents of certain distasteful theories would have you believe vengeful spirits inhabited the schoolhouse long before the tragedy—or even that they caused it.
{Second Floor}
Second Floor
Landing: Immediately upon reaching the top of the stairs, one notices that most of the western wall has collapsed, and the floor isn't much better. It can be walked across with some care, but it's rather unnerving to do so, given the nearly fifty-foot drop to the nearest solid ground below.
Strange Room (???): It's not entirely clear what this room was used for. It has students' desks in it, though not many. There are thick curtains over the windows, robust enough that they've largely survived the passage of time unscathed to this day.
Second Floor
Landing: Immediately upon reaching the top of the stairs, one notices that most of the western wall has collapsed, and the floor isn't much better. It can be walked across with some care, but it's rather unnerving to do so, given the nearly fifty-foot drop to the nearest solid ground below.
Strange Room (???): It's not entirely clear what this room was used for. It has students' desks in it, though not many. There are thick curtains over the windows, robust enough that they've largely survived the passage of time unscathed to this day.
The footpaths here used to be well-worn and ankle-deep, but the greenery has steadily crept in and swallowed it all down.
Along with these maps were packaged carefully-written instructions for some kind of ritual, its true purpose unknown. Your group has thus decided to follow these cryptic directives and see what happens.
With the stage set, we're ready. During a seemingly innocent exploration of the Last House, something terrible will soon occur there once again... were boredom and curiosity truly the sole motivators for this journey, or has something sinister called to one of your own?
Note to the Blackened:
You may notice I have not provided any instructions for the above-mentioned ritual. That's because, as part of the murder plan for this Mini Trial, the Blackened will be responsible for writing their very own occult ritual! The assumption is that one is using the ritual to summon or contact a ghost, but feel free to go wild with how you interpret that. Make it as simple or exhaustively complex as you like, as serious or as silly as your gross little heart desires. The instructions and materials for the ritual will be public knowledge both in and out of character. Speaking of materials...
While the tools available within the Last House are somewhat limited (read: actively decomposing), your group will be bringing in stuff from outside for use in the ritual, which you are free to use in your murder plan! Need candles? Easy. A creepy doll? No problem. A whole gas-powered chainsaw? We'll make it work.
To sign up, please reply to this thread with the following information:
Name
Age
(While I mentioned "teenagers" briefly, feel free to do whatever.)
Reason for Joining the Ritual
(Is this truly your first time visiting the Last House? Did you hear the stories from a classmate and think it's super neat? Were you double-dog dared? Or did you know someone who went missing there all those years ago?)
Picture (optional)
If you wish to be Blackened, please PM me to indicate this when you sign up.
We will operate on the following schedule:
— Signups will end 48 hours after this thread is posted (Tuesday, October 27, 11:00pm EST). The Blackened will be selected at this point. —
— Ritual instructions and murder plan will be accepted no later than 48 hours after the Blackened has been selected (Thursday, October 28, 11:00pm EST). —
— Truth Bullets will be created and posted along with Trial, hopefully opening within 18 hours (Friday, October 29, 5:00pm EST). —
— Trial will last roughly 48 hours (Sunday, October 31, 5:00pm EST). It may last slightly longer. We'll play it by ear. —