>>1088296
This.

>>1088296
Oh, only cutting one support might be enough, yeah.

Kaktus 2024/04/27(Sat)10:52 No. 1089850 ID: 681cb5
File 171424033963.png - (146.50KB , 700x550 , 20.png )

>The music box! Open the music box!
You still haven’t found the key to wind it up, remember! You need the key first!

>Maybe they're friendly zombie horrors?
“So… can we talk this out?” you ask, looking at the abomination that’s slowly slithering closer, “Do you even understand me?” Neither of them answers, or even react, to your voice. Instead, they are slowly itching closer, revealing their forms little by little. “I’ll take that as a no…” you mutter as the beast in front of you enters the light, showing off its long spine ‘tongue’ with what you can only assume is it’s host skull still stuck on the end. These are clearly not your cuddly monsters…

>You've seen Indiana Jones right? Wrap your arm around one rope, chop the other, then just hold on.
Placing your axe on the rope, you yell, “One step closer and I’ll cut it!” but neither of them reacts. Even as you start sawing through the rope with your axe they do nothing, seemingly not even seeing want you’re doing. Do these things even have eyes? You aren’t given time to ponder that fact as the axe finally cuts through the rope, making it snap.

Kaktus 2024/04/27(Sat)10:52 No. 1089851 ID: 681cb5
File 171424035998.png - (76.51KB , 700x550 , 21.png )

With a loud crack the whole bridge gives out, as ropes and planks breaks beneath the weight of the monsters.

The beasts’ screeches loudly as they fall pass you, flailing blindly after something, anything to grab on too. It’s only with luck you manage to dodge their assault as they pass, as if they grabbed you, you too would plunge into the darkness below. Their screams grow fainter and fainter… before they are gone completely, never seemingly hitting the ground of the massive open maw below you.

It stills hungers for you… and you can feel it breathing as you try to get a better grip on the rope…

Kaktus 2024/04/27(Sat)10:52 No. 1089853 ID: 681cb5
File 171424037067.png - (101.27KB , 700x550 , 23.png )

With shaking hands, you pull yourself up onto the edge, thanking your father for insisting that you join in on his hunts in your youth.

You really hope the worst is over…

Kaktus 2024/04/27(Sat)10:53 No. 1089854 ID: 681cb5
File 171424038078.png - (85.26KB , 700x1080 , 24.png )

Going even deeper into the gullet of the great stone leviathan, you soon find yourself at a dead end. In front of you is a massive wall, decorated with stone carvings that have to be thousands of years old. Depicting a person standing between two pillars above the symbol of graves, with worshippers bowing before them on each side, they raise their hands towards the sky… towards a single eye in the palm of a giant hand. The Red Star.

Wait, you can see footprints going towards the wall before disappearing… rabbit footprints. Chris been here, and recently too! Looking closer, you spot a small seam climbing up the massive stone slab in front of you, clearly indicating that this wall is in fact a door. A door that’s two massive stone blocks weighting probably hundreds upon hundreds of tons. How in god’s name can anyone move this!?

You search the area around you, but find nothing. There are no hidden levers, buttons or other contraptions nearby. But how do you open the gate? Hmm… did you read something about this back in the library? Or in the mansion? You have to get through, because there is no other way out, now that the bridge is gone.

…you can feel it staring at you from above, as if expecting something…

[Inventory:]
Strange Flute
Strange Lens
Music Box (without it’s windup key)
Old Photo Album
Oil Lamp
Your Wedding Ring 
Wallet
Pocket Flask of Strong Whiskey
Bottle of Grease

>>1089854

Hmm... if you had the coffin from earlier... it can't be the lens, since Chris went through. What was it you read from that book in the library? Seems like a lifetime ago! Star worshippers, beyond the bowl of tiny fires, ritual appeasements, carved beacons but you don't have a beacon!

Ah! It's just like that painting with the brown rabbit in purple robes back at the mansion. The attunement I believe it was called. Are there some pillars and an alter in the room? You may have to get up on the alter and perform some kind of dance and musical performance with the strange flute.

That book back in the house library said that a door sealed with the image of a 'pagan God's could be unsealed by speaking its true name. But what if it's not the star that marks this wall, but the figure in the middle? Try saying "Bovel"

Or maybe the flute? Do any of the runes on the flute correspond to the carving? Could the red star's true name be a tone?

>rabbit footprints.
I find it kinda dangerous nobody around here wears shoes.

Maybe playing the flute to the tune of the musica box might help.

If not, try saying those aweful names Bövel cried out in the dream. You remember that, right?

Kaktus 2024/05/08(Wed)16:15 No. 1090593 ID: 681cb5
File 171521014592.png - (66.75KB , 700x550 , 25.png )

>Try saying those aweful names Bövel cried out in the dream. You remember that, right?
Huh? What dream? You have some vague memories of a tarot reading but… no, no strange names.
>Maybe playing the flute to the tune of the musica box might help.
The damn music box won’t play unless you find the key to wind it first, for crying out loud! Besides, you don’t know how to play the flute anyway…

>Ah! It's just like that painting with the brown rabbit in purple robes back at the mansion.
Huh… that’s right. The carving is similar to the painting, what with the altar, pillars and the central figure… not to mention, that eye might just be the obelisk that was in the background. But how does that help you…?
>Are there some pillars and an alter in the room? You may have to get up on the alter and perform some kind of dance and musical performance with the strange flute.
…you’ve already checked this whole area. There’s nothing here. In fact, something tells you that this altar and pillars might be located right behind this massive door. You just need to get through it first.

Let’s see… as Chris got pass it before you, the key can’t be physical… at least you hope so. That rules out the flute and the lens… wait, why was the lens so important again? No matter…

>That book back in the house library said that a door sealed with the image of a 'pagan God's could be unsealed by speaking its true name.
That’s right… that old book you read when you first arrived! Of course, as Bövel in Chris body would already know the name, he could pass it easily!

You just need to say the name of the red star out loud and the door will open!

Kaktus 2024/05/08(Wed)16:15 No. 1090594 ID: 681cb5
File 171521015476.png - (63.08KB , 700x550 , 26.png )

…which is something that you don’t know. Oh god… you… you can’t open the door! You don’t have the true name of the red star!! But… y-you can’t go back either… because the bridge is gone!!! You’re stuck here!!!!

THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING!!!!!

Kaktus 2024/05/08(Wed)16:16 No. 1090595 ID: 681cb5
File 171521016698.png - (56.59KB , 700x550 , 27.png )

For a few hours, you desperately try to find a way out, turning your hands into a bloody mess as you claw in vain against the door. Then, as your lantern dies and leaves you in complete darkness, you finally give in and surrender to your fate.

Mercifully, the ice cold night make quick work of you, as you fall asleep dreaming of your hubby, to never wake up again…

They will never find your remains.

-You have died-

You scored 68 out of a possible 100 points; you are on the edge of oblivion.

Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, UNDO your last move or QUIT?

>RESTORE
Restoring and old save…

Kaktus 2024/05/08(Wed)16:16 No. 1090596 ID: 681cb5
File 171521017627.png - (76.44KB , 700x550 , 28.png )

And then, the wine racks slides away, revealing a hidden entrance behind it. A gaping maw that leads into pitch darkness, its breath can be heard as the wind flows through it, making it howl like a… wait… didn’t you just…?

Kaktus 2024/05/08(Wed)16:16 No. 1090598 ID: 681cb5
File 171521019029.png - (84.36KB , 700x550 , 29.png )

Huh… you got the strangest case of déjà-vu…

You’re standing in the secret passage between the library, the observatory and the attic… and you just got this feeling you have to do something very important before you follow your husband through the secret door in the basement… but what?

[Inventory:]
Strange Flute
Strange Lens
Music Box (without it’s windup key)
Old Photo Album
Oil Lamp
Your Wedding Ring 
Wallet
Pocket Flask of Strong Whiskey
Axe

>>1090598
Let's go up to the observatory and use the lens to obtain some possibly-mindrending forbidden knowledge about an eldritch god!

That lens was hidden for a reason, and that was to hide the name of the red star, which is probably important. You should try the observatory now, you might not get the chance later.

i really hope these reloaded saves wont affect our ability to get the true ending

Alright then Belle. Arm yourself with something and head up to the observatory. See if you can't find anything more up there about the red star.

We need to learn about the cult's monsters... find some way to repel them, or injure them if we're cornered.

Kaktus 2024/05/28(Tue)15:02 No. 1091972 ID: 681cb5
File 171693372906.png - (145.67KB , 700x550 , 30.png )

>I really hope these reloaded saves won’t affect our ability to get the true ending.
The what now? This isn’t some game! And the only ending you’ll get is the one where you save your hubby, no matter what. You made a promise on your rings, remember?
>Let's go up to the observatory and use the lens to obtain some possibly-mindrending forbidden knowledge about an eldritch god!
You’ve been procrastinating on the lens for too long. It might be a bad idea, but it was hidden for a reason… and going by what you know about demons in media, knowing their true name is a weapon that can be used against them. If this is what it takes to save Chris…

Making your way through the twisting and warping passages, it doesn’t take long before you reach the vault on top of the mansion. Even now, the ruminations of generations of crazed warlocks hangs in the air, as the old wood whispers of forbidden knowledge just out of hearing range each time the building moves in the wind. The wickedness of this room stains your very sanity, as you feel your head start to throb painfully… you better be quick, or you’ll go mad in here…

Climbing up to the telescope, you insert the strange disc into the slot on the side, making it slide into the apparatus as if it always was a part of it. Sitting down and putting your eye too it, you have to wonder if it will even work. After all, it’s still daytime… and the sky is overcast with clouds.

Kaktus 2024/05/28(Tue)15:02 No. 1091973 ID: 681cb5
File 171693373746.png - (723.84KB , 700x550 , 31.png )

Looking out into the cosmos… you can see stars… and is that Mars?

Wait, there’s a red dot… can you zoom in with this thing?

Kaktus 2024/05/28(Tue)15:02 No. 1091974 ID: 681cb5
File 171693374644.png - (508.30KB , 700x550 , 32.png )

You twist the handle of the telescope and are met with a completely different sight. Did you zoom in? Or is this something completely different? It looks like hands reaching up into the sky… towards… a red dot? It’s still there… let’s try one more twist…

Kaktus 2024/05/28(Tue)15:02 No. 1091975 ID: 681cb5
File 171693376384.gif - (14.74MB , 700x550 , 33.gif )

…is that the Andromeda galaxy? It’s so small… and… wait… where’s the dot? There’s nothing here?

you might be zoomed in a little too far. If it is a big eye, you might be seeing the reflection in its pupil.

Yeah zoom out a little.

>>1091972
Oh, that means it totally will, but I think we've established that winning is worth a few losses.

>>1091975
What's that animation about?

Kaktus 2024/05/29(Wed)14:55 No. 1092036 ID: 681cb5
File 171701975271.png - (823.16KB , 700x550 , 34.png )

>You might be zoomed in a little too far.
Twisting the knob in the opposite direction, you try and zoom out… but instead the image of Andromeda is pulled even closer. Behind it, you can see strange colors splashed across the infinite black canvas. There’s nothing here but an endless abyss.

Kaktus 2024/05/29(Wed)14:56 No. 1092037 ID: 681cb5
File 171701976313.gif - (3.45MB , 700x550 , 35.gif )

…and then the abyss moves its attention to you… and blinks…

It doesn’t gaze upon the earth, nor the American continent. It isn’t even looking at the town of Crowmoor. No, this thing… it’s staring straight at you. It has seen you.

You now have its attention…

Kaktus 2024/05/29(Wed)14:56 No. 1092038 ID: 681cb5
File 171701977771.png - (130.92KB , 700x550 , 36.png )

You scream.

You have been screaming for a long time.

Your hands are bleeding, as you’ve dug them deep into the wood of this accursed dome…

You try to cry but there aren’t any more tears. Not anymore.

How long have you screamed? Days? Weeks? Months? Maybe even years? Or just a few seconds?

Burning inside your mind is a name. Something that cannot be pronounced without ten thousands stars screaming in agony as they die… something that cannot be written down as there are no letters, no symbols that convey their meaning. It burns… and hurts so much…

But you didn’t get it for free. No, it took something from you as well.

It took your name.

…you can no longer remember your name…


[Inventory:]
Strange Flute
Music Box (without it’s windup key)
Old Photo Album
Oil Lamp
Your Wedding Ring 
Wallet
Pocket Flask of Strong Whiskey
Axe
The true name of the red star

Really? To open the door we have to kill ten thousand suns? Well, I guess there's billions of them anyway, and >99% of them don't support life.

This explains why good people can't have nice things.
But we aren't good people and we demand the defeat of our enemies before they defeat everyone on this planet.
Head to the catacombs after you've filled your 'spell slots'. It's time to end this.

>>1092038
>…you can no longer remember your name…
<o> Knott

But even if you're unable to remember your own name, you can at least remember your husband's name, right? It's Chris Knott. You're doing everything you can to save him from whatever is possessing him!

You don't need your name, you don't need your eyes, you have but one thing to do, which is be a general nuisance and interfere with Bövel's plans. Time's a wasting! Exeunt!

Your name should be written in your <o>. Or you can just get a new name later.

Anyway time to head down catacombs and tear an ancient spirit out of your husband, so you can kill it again for making you go through all this.

Kaktus 2024/05/31(Fri)13:38 No. 1092211 ID: 681cb5
File 171718792255.png - (79.48KB , 700x550 , 37.png )

With shaky legs, you start to leave this cursed dome. Having to steady yourself against the wall, you slowly make your way through the twisting corridors, each step making the headache gets worse and worse… all the while your eyes burn as if you’ve looked directly into the sun…

>Your name is <o> Knott.
Your name is what? You don’t understand…
>Your name should be written in your <o>.
…in your what? Why does it feel like you’ve lost something?
>Or you can just get a new name later.
That’s not how it works… you can’t just call yourself <o> and make that your new name, can you?

>Really? To open the door we have to kill ten thousand suns? Well, I guess there's billions of them anyway, and >99% of them don't support life.
It doesn’t actually kill ten thousands suns, it just sounds like ten thousands suns screaming in agony as they are snuffed out, one by one, over the eons. Even they will not escape its gaze…
>But even if you're unable to remember your own name, you can at least remember your husband's name, right?
Chris… Chris Knott… you’re coming, hubby… you’re coming and you’re going to make them pay.

>Head to the catacombs after you've filled your 'spell slots'. It's time to end this.
What catacombs? You meant the place Chris ventured into? The one behind the secret wine rack door? Right, enough is enough. You’re going to go down there, find Chris, kick the ass of whatever is possessing him before burning this goddessforsaken house to the ground, or your name isn’t… err… whatever it is!

Kaktus 2024/05/31(Fri)13:38 No. 1092212 ID: 681cb5
File 171718793898.png - (156.07KB , 1035x550 , 38.png )

You find yourself in the attic once again… but something is off.

The trapdoor is down, yet neither you nor Chris has been up here for a while…

And you hear voices coming from downstairs… they sound… angry… and footsteps. Lots of them.

...you don’t recognize them.

[Inventory:]
Strange Flute
Music Box (without it’s windup key)
Old Photo Album
Oil Lamp
Your Wedding Ring 
Pocket Flask of Strong Whiskey
Axe
The true name of the red star

>>1092212

They must have come searching for you up here, and left the trap door open on their way out. They probably won't search in here a second time, so you have a moment of safety up here, but only just so.

Can you hear what they're saying? Where they're going to look next?

Maybe The true name of the red star can be your name now since you now have a slot open for a name... maybe it already is your new name?

So, assume that the hypothetical that you can no longer perceive your name, nor any allusions to your name, nor the meaning of your name if you looked up what it meant. This is equivalent to, essentially, a form of brain damage. It's metaphysical in origin and nature, sure, but it's analogous to the sort of thing that people have to deal with for entirely physical reasons as well.

You have taken a wound in the violent conflict to defend and protect those you care about from harm. Honor that, continue fighting for that cause, and just deal with it. Maybe you can be usefully given a new name that you can perceive in the future, maybe you can't, and that's fine, as long as you *win*.

>>1092211
Well. If you have a kid and name them <*>, you could call yourself <*>mother.

>>1092212
If you have become a mage, you should scavenge this place for spell components, then test them out on the angry lynch mob.

enough about the name, already! There is an angry mob to worry about!

Stay in the walls, peep on the intruders.

Looks like you'll have to make this a stealth mission. Sneaking in the walls might help you find where they're looking. Arm yourself with something to clobber them with in case they discover you. Try to make it to that wine rack in one piece.

Kaktus 2024/06/13(Thu)13:13 No. 1092917 ID: 681cb5
File 171830960032.png - (93.92KB , 700x550 , 39.png )

>Stay in the walls, peep on the intruders.
Going back into the secret passage, you make your way through its twisted corridors trying to find a peephole that will show you your unwanted visitors. Finally, you find one that is looking out into the foyer, where several masked people in robes has gathered.

“Lord, the basement is empty.” one figure suddenly appears in the corner of your vision, wielding a shotgun, “We have searched everywhere.”
”Good. Then start searching the ground floor.” the largest of the cultists snarls with a deep and guttural voice, more fitting a beast than a man, ”Rip apart the walls if you have too! She will not escape us! THE MASTER COMMANDS IT!” Their movements are stiff and unnatural, as if they were made out of wood, ”We have the mansion surrounded, so she must still be here.”
“Maybe we can call out to her, make her reveal herself. What was her name again?” the cultist on the stairs quickly answers, “It’s… um… it’s… err…” The cultists look between each other, as if trying to find the one with the right answer, “I got it on my tongue but… I just can’t find it?”
”Her name is… … …is not important.” the large one finally hisses, clearly unable to remember your name either, ”She is the fox, nothing more.”
“And if we don’t find her?”
”Then we will burn her out. This mansion is of no more use to us.” the leader makes a sound that make your bones rattle, as the very wood of the walls starts creaking and warping slightly, before continuing, ”Remember, while the master would prefer her alive, do not hesitate to kill her if she causes trouble. Now start tearing this place apart!”

And with that the majority of them shuffle off, leaving only the leader and one of the cultists standing next to them. The hunt is on…

>Arm yourself with something to clobber them with in case they discover you.
You still have your axe… though, seeing how well armed and numerous they are, fighting them is really not a good idea. No, you need to figure out a way down into the wine cellar without being noticed… somehow…

[Inventory:]
Strange Flute
Music Box (without it’s windup key)
Old Photo Album
Oil Lamp
Your Wedding Ring 
Pocket Flask of Strong Whiskey
Axe
The true name of the red star

>>1092917
One of them as a shotgun. In fact, that shotgun looks very familiar.
You need to neutralize him first. If you can take his gun, this hunt gets far easier.

And will you please try casting magic? You didn't sacrifice your identity to learn one little name!

>Your name has been erased
Come to think of it, it appears every mention of your past identity has been ripped from reality by whatever Constellation took interest in the 'adowable widdle micwobe'. The arse also stole your wallet, the cultists can't remember who you are... it appears that everything with even a passing mention of your existence has either been scrambled or outright removed from reality. With creativity, this could actually be a criminal opportunity; if the government's secret databases which they keep to monitor all of the country have been corrupted, and only you know for certain that has happened... that kind of information could be very valuable to the right power players.
Something to think about.

Oil lamp plus whiskey equals a fiery distraction? As in, setting the house on fire while sneaking into the basement. Not like this evil place is worth saving anyway.

>>1092918
> The arse also stole your wallet

hahaha intergalactically mugged

Maybe some sort of distraction? If you could get them to chase you the wrong way, they might clear out of the path to the wine cellar.

Oh my stars the librarian is part of the cult too!

Wasn't there a way into the basement from the secret wall space you're in? Do you think you could beat to the basement?