Fantasy Steamhaven: Land of the Lost

[ArcticFox]

Lianna stayed very still next to the door, though throwing an odd glance at the patient in the room. She just hoped he wouldn't do anything unpredictable. She wanted to peek through the door to check if there was anyone there, but she refrained from it, hoping that if she couldn't hear their footsteps, she'd hear them open the door to Emma's ex room.

 

[Cartoonicat]

A wise decision, considering in the next few moments she heard the faintest of footsteps and the opening of a door down the hall. Hushed voices reached her ear, none familiar though all too muffled by the door to be entirely sure.

"The beast brought its pack, am I right?" The patient hummed, unmoving from his position against the wall. He made no attempt to whisper. Simply looked at Lianna out of the corner of his eye, dark circles prominent. "But they're not looking for a snack. No, not tonight." His knowledge of the situation was surprising considering his confinement.

- Talk to the patient
- Shush the patient
- Use the patient as bait
- Ignore the patient

 

[ArcticFox]

"Shhh." Lianna scowled at the patient but then stopped abruptly and looked at him suspiciously. "How do you know that?" She asked, whispering.

 

[Cartoonicat]

He didn't take the hint. Instead, the patient laughed. "The walls have ears, here," he explained. "One by one, they disappear." His eyes turned to the scratch marks make in the wall. "I'm the only one left." The patient didn't take his eyes off the wall, but his lips slowly turned into a grin.

Looking at the wall, Lianna could see an entryway made out of scratching into the plaster. It swayed lightly, hardly noticeable unless directly inspected, but there nonetheless. The patient had found a way into the walls - a whole new labyrinth of tunnels to explore.

His hand dropped from the plaster with one last, long scratch that broke the rhythm. "...Be my guest."

- Go into the walls
- Stay in the room

 

[ArcticFox]

Liana blinked in disbelief. This was both very insane and incredibly genius. Perhaps it would lead her to a spot from which she'd be able to shoot the vampires more conveniently. Or it could get her completely lost. She wanted to explore that maze, but she just couldn't risk it at that moment. Perhaps it could serve as an escape route.

"Maybe later." She said, readying her shotgun. It was time for her to come out of hiding.

 

[Cartoonicat]

All Lianna would hear next from the patient would be an airy laugh - more of an amused huff - and then nothing but more scratching. Opening the door into the hallway, she'd find a solitary figure outside Emma's room and the door open, revealing curses of at least two more inside. They didn't seem to have noticed her yet, they were caught in conversation with whomever be inside the abandoned room.

- Shoot them
- Sneak up on them
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

One thing she learned is that you should never get close to a vampire. They did not want another bite. So this time her tactic was to just shoot at the head, leaving them out for a while so she could stake them. She aimed for the exposed target and shot. Three quick shots for three vampires, hopefully her aim was good enough to deal with all of them.

 

[Cartoonicat]

The vampire in the hallway was shot against the wall, slumped and unprotected while regenerating, and Lianna managed to hit the second one inside. However, the first two shots served as a warning for the third. Hissing, the vampire ducked out of the way before lunging at Lianna and attempting to pin her against the wall, fangs bared.

Considering she slathered her neck in anti-vampire "perfume" earlier, one bite would poison the creature. Garlic worked wonders externally, but internally it may as well be cyanide for the monsters.

- Use the glove
- Shoot the vampire
- Let it bite you
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Even if her garlic perfume would be perfect for this, she already swore she is not letting anyone bite her that night. Thankfully she had a different surprise on hand, literally. She hit the vampire's chest with her gloved hand, fingers crossed that the stake would trigger.

 

[Cartoonicat]

The glove launched and the vampire's eyes went wide. With a choked cry, its body went limp against her before falling to the ground. Lianna's stake remained clean; blood did not run through vampire veins.

"You... b-bitch!" the second vampire, thrown against Emma's bed by the initial blast of the shotgun, forced himself to his feet. Lianna did not recognize this vampire. He hissed, this time showing off short fangs. From what she could remember, those with their fangs filed short were likely older than most. He threw himself at her before she could restart the glove.

- Shoot him
- Evade
- Wrestle
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Without thinking too much about it, Lianna pressed the trigger of her shotgun. She just had to get the creature away from her for a second so she could retrieve the stake from her pack.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Blinded by rage, the vampire took a faceful of shotgun shells and flew back into the bed. Unfortunately for Lianna, the first vampire had recovered enough to stand and block her exit.

Fortunately, for Lianna, she'd allowed a certain feisty waitress to stick around. It had been silly to assume she'd stay put for long. The first vampire's eyes widened at the sound of a click and it fell to the floor. Behind it stood Poppy, hand outstretched and glove activated. She was breathing heavily, eyes wild. "I just killed a vampire."

Thanks to Poppy, Lianna had enough time to reload her glove just in time for the second vampire to strike again. Sending a stake through his heart sent him toppling over like the other two, dead on the floor.

Again, Poppy repeated: "I just killed a vampire. Bloody hell!"

- Scold her
- Thank her
- Ignore her
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"You know, the Hunters are always hiring." Lianna smiled, patting her on the back. "Thank you, you saved me a lot of trouble. Now, back to the closet, more will be coming."

 

[Cartoonicat]

Poppy was a mix of beaming confidence and bewilderment. She stepped forward to leave, only to pause at the last second. "Wait," she said, "when they passed the closet, I heard them mention a hunter." She glanced over her shoulder but no more figures had appeared. "They could have been talking about you, but... well, we haven't seen Clem or the other guy since they left to set the landmines."

The woman was obviously worried even if she wouldn't outright admit it.

- Convince her to hide again
- Let her stay
- (Optional) Search for Clem and Dan

 

[ArcticFox]

"I know, I'm getting worried too." Lianna admitted. "Nevetheless, you still have to go and hide. If they come close to you just focus on escaping, please. These creatures are more than dangerous." She gave her a worried look, hoping she would listen. "I'm going to slowly descend to the yard and see if I can locate Clem and Dan."

 

[Cartoonicat]

Looking down the hallway, Poppy bit her lip. "Let me go with you. Just-" she set her mouth in a stubborn, thin line. "I just want to help."

Lianna could have Poppy stay hidden on the third floor or allow her to follow. The two could also travel through the walls now, assuming she wanted to trust the patient who'd scratched into the plaster to begin with.

- Poppy stays
- Bring Poppy
- (Optional) Travel through the walls

 

[ArcticFox]

"Fine." Lianna sighed. "But you must stay close to me at all times." She warned, then pointed at the doors of the room with the strange patient. "You are not going to like this, but we are not taking a conventional way down."

 

[Cartoonicat]

Poppy's shoulders relaxed. "I will, but what-" she followed Lianna's line of sight and quirked a brow. Didn't say anything until they stepped in the room, greeted by the same eerie smile of the Scratching Man. Poppy's mouth twisted: "What are we doin' in here?" Glanced at the rejected food trays.

The Scratching Man's grin became a teeth-showing smile. He pressed lightly on the wall entrance, plaster bits crumbling. They'd have to step by him to get through.

"How the hell did the orderlies not notice that?" Poppy asked him. He didn't answer, which set her tensing again. "I don't like this..."

Lianna could go first through the walls or send Poppy in ahead of her. While she didn't quite know him nor did he look strong enough to be wandering about for long, she could ask the Scratching Man to be their guide.

- Go first
- Send Poppy in
- (Optional) Ask the Scratching Man to lead

 

[ArcticFox]

"I don't either, but I also see how it can be covenient." Lianna said. She moved to step past the patient, taking Poppy's hand protectively to lead her. Just in case, she threw the man a warning look. "Don't try anything."

 

[Cartoonicat]

Thankfully, the Scratching Man didn't bother them. Either he was too weak to do anything or simply didn't care.

Inside the wall dust floated in the air, causing Poppy to stifle several coughs. The walkway, hardly enough room for them to squeeze through, went dark: behind them, the Scratching Man closed the entrance with a mumbled singsong: "To the crusade, we give our aid and let them pass. To the crusade, we tip our glass. "

Shrouded in darkness, Poppy moved closer to Lianna. "Somethin's wrong with that one," she murmured.

They wandered forward until reaching a split: Left or right. The left route seemed dustier than the other, though they both were absolutely filthy.

- Left
- Right

 

[ArcticFox]

"I agree. That one is not in the asylum for no reason." Lianna nodded. As they reached the split in the route, she covered her mouth and waved a hand in front of to trying to keep the dust away. She needed a bath so badly. "Let's go right." She said, turning that way.

 

[Cartoonicat]

They followed the right route for what seemed like forever but in reality was only about 2 or 3 minutes. Poppy cursed, tripping over a wooden plank sticking into the pathway, and gripped the infrastructure to keep herself upright. "Careful here," she said.

And she was right to be careful: The further they went right, the more the pathway seemed to be of a... homemade variety. Plank boards were nailed into the infrastructure with rusted nails that fell out when touched. It was now a game of not stepping on a nail or tripping over poor workmanship.

Underfoot, Lianna stepped on what felt like a rug. Poppy looked over her shoulder, squinting against the dark. In front of them the path had disappeared into a small, patient-sized room. There were no lights, but their eyes had adjusted enough to see the outline of crudely made furniture pieces. All located within the wall.

- Investigate
- Turn around
- Pass through
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"Well, this is odd." Lianna said, looking around inquisitively. She felt like they had dawdled in the tunnels for too long, what if the vampires had already stormed the asylum? She tried to spot anything that would indicate an exit from that place. If she found nothing she would pas through it and follow the tunnels.

 

[Cartoonicat]

In the center of the room, curled at the edges, was a map of the asylum and its three floors. Wall trails had been mapped out, as well as X's in specific rooms. One of those rooms belonged to the Scratching Man.

Spoiler: Floor 3

Spoiler: Floor 2

Spoiler: Floor 1

"Bloody hell," Poppy breathed, "they were conspiring together."Arrows in certain rooms pointed up and down, eventually leading to one building on the first floor separate from the patient rooms. Poppy nearly laughed in surprise: "They found a way into the Main Office. That is terrifying."

- Take the map
- Return to the Scratching Man
- Head to the down arrow icon
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"Fun." Lianna said sarcastically. She took the map and studied it for a moment. "Do you think the Xs mean that there are passages that lead out to those rooms?" She asked, not quite sure what to make of the maps. "We've really no time to explore the passages here. Do you understand these better than I do? What do you think should be the fastest route to an exit?"