Chapter 3: Spooky's Multi-Dimensional Mansion Trap
"Ha ha, I was just kidding" Spooky said, "there is a way to escape, you just have to find it."
"Oh," Rik said, "why can't we just go out the front door?"
"It would be too easy" Spooky said, "that's not very entertaining to just turn heel and walk out y'know?"
"I guess?" Rik said, "um, don't mind me sayin but you are not very scary for someone called spooky."
"Oh I can be scary" Spooky said, "I just choose not to right now."
"Well I ain't stayin" Lix said, "gonna miss the festival stuck here."
"Yeah," John said, "come on let's just go back outside." Upon opening the door John fell down and into what looked like a void.
"John!" Anton shouted, "no!"
"Well," Kenny the Self-aware said, "there goes John Firstego, the least characterized of us all but still, he will be missed. Everyone shoots a questioning glance at Kenny, and then glares angrily at Spooky, Spooky just stares back blankly.
"What?" she asked, "I warned you, would be too easy."
"What is this place?!" Lix yelled, "some murder trap because you're evil?!"
"Well, yeah kinda" Spooky said, "it was made to hold someone in particular but I decided to expand on that." "Anyway if you must know this place is Spooky's Multi-Dimensional Mansion Terror Trap of Despair, Doubt, Pain and Suffering; I am still trying to get that trademarked."
"Wow" Rik said, "that's welcoming." "But I have my kid here, can't you just let him go?"
"Nope sorry" Spooky said, "picked a poor day to bring your child to work."
"You monster!" Anton said, "first you take the life of our friend and now you disregard the safety of a child? Inexcusable!"
"I am not a monster" Spooky said, "I am a ghost, anyway just find the end and you can go, I guess." "I wouldn't know, no one has ever made it out but there's like a portal or something that will bring you back."
"Do we really have too?" Rik asked, "we were just lookin for someone missin."
"Yup, have fun bye!" Spooky said and disappeared through the ceiling.
"Well, which door should we go through?" Anton asked.
"I dunno" Lix said, "blind guess I suppose so I say right." "Y'know, cause right is right.. Right?"
"Not necessarily" Kenny said. "Well Rik it's up to you what we do, you are the leader after all."
"Yeah, thanks for remindin me" Rik said. "I say we just take a moment to rest a'ight?"
"Yes sir" Kenny said.
"Rest?" Lix asked, "I dunno if that's a good idea, what if this whole room becomes a trap by not gettin moving?"
"Let's just hope it don't" Rik said. Rik then walks over to Greg and sits next to him on the couch.
"You okay?" Rik asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine" Greg said, "I'm not worried cause you have it all under control right?"
"Not gonna lie" Rik said, "I am not in control of much but I won't let anything happen to you."
"I already knew that" Greg said, "who knows maybe we will find treasure too."
""Treasure?" Lix said, "that is definitely a silver lining little buddy, would make this sorta worth it."
"Yeah, don't count on it" Rik said, "anyway we should go through the door over here on the right."
"Yeah, right is always right!" Lix said, "we'll be fine!".
"If you die next I wouldn't be surprised" Kenny said.
"You would want that would you?" Lix asked dryly.
"Of course not, just sarcasm" Kenny said, "you are always so critical."
"Well" Greg said "that wasn't a nice thing to say".
"Of course" Kenny said, "I'm sorry, okay?"
"Okay" Greg said.
"Alright, well onwards then" Kenny said.
"Yeah, let's go and stay together" Rik said as they entered into the next room. In the room there was more furniture next to a very warm fireplace with pictures of clowns and sabercats.
"Why are there so many clown pictures?" Lix asked, "I hate clowns."
"Aw, you're scared of clowns?" Anton asked.
"No," Lix said "hate them, they are so annoying I could just ice them."
"Whoa man," Kenny said, "you should chill out!"
"Don't even start with the ice puns" Lix said, "they are not funny." The fire began to grow in strength.
"Woah" Rik said, "that fire is gettin pretty huge." The fire then began to spread into the room.
"Okay not good!" Rik yelled.
"Lix, your breath!" Kenny yelled, "use it!." Lix quickly breathes his ice breath freezing the whole room with a icy coat.
"Very ice! I mean, very nice" Rik said, "let's go." They walk into the next room and it looked to be some sort of recreational room. It had a pool table as well as some machine like looking equipment.
"Well, there's nothing much here" Anton said. "May as well carry on." Rik goes to open the next door but find that it's locked.
"And we need a key" Rik said, "anyone seen one?"
"I don't believe I have" Kenny said.
"Well" Lix said, "let's look around." "It's gotta be in here somewhere, where is it?" They look around the room and have little luck in finding the key. Eventually Lix leans on one of the machines and accidentally pulled down a switch or something, Rik was unsure. What he was sure of however was that it opened up a crawl space for a Kobold to fit through. However Rik found he wasn't exactly slim enough to fit through due to his armor; it is light but it's just bulky enough to where he cannot fit.
"Well I guess I will need to take my armor pieces off" Rik said.
"I got it dad" Greg said. Before Rik could protest Greg climbed through and yelled he found the key.
"Okay" Rik said, "now get outta there."
"On my way" Greg responded, "what the?"
'What the what?" Rik asked.
"Aaa!" Greg shouted, and then there was a thud,
"Greg!" Rik shoued. A moment later Greg came scrambling out of the crawl space.
"Greg what happened?" Rik asked.
"There was monster in there, but I took care of him" Greg said.
"You killed a monster?" Lix said, "sure kid."
"I can fend for myself" Greg said.
"Hey, I believe you" Rik said.
"Yeah, Kenny said, "you are capable, now that key."
"Right here" Greg said holding it out.
"Great" Kenny said, "let's move out." They unlocked the door and proceed to the next room. It appeared to be a kitchen with everything you would find in one, stoves, fridges and utensils.
"Jinkies I'm hungry" Lix said.
"Did you just say 'jinkies'?" Kenny asked.
"Maybe what's it matter?" Lix said, "anyway I'm raidin the fridge." Lix opens the fridge and find that there is a severed head in there.
"Whoa, um never mind" Lix said.
"Why what is it?" Greg asked.
"Nothing let's just keep moving." Lix said. They move on and into what seemed to be a dining room with waiter ghosts serving a big fat ghost. There are also more pictures of clowns in the room as well.
"Ghosts have food?" Rik asked.
"Apparently" Kenny said, "they ain't bothering us so let's just leave e'm".
"Good idea" Rik said so they carried on into a hallway. They walked down the hallway for seemingly hours.
"This is the longest hallway ever" Lix said, "what's it leadin to anyway?" After saying that the group soon came to a set of stairs.
"Aw come on!" Anton said, "we just did a bunch of walking and now we walk upwards?
"Hey it's not a bad work out" Greg said.
"Yeah" Kenny said, "I suppose it's not, chin up Anton." They walk up the stairs as it twist and turns going upwards.
"Wow, this is too many stairs" Lix said, "did a fitness instructor construct this part of the place?."
"Maybe" Kenny said, "who bleeding knows?" Upon reaching the top they enter a barren wood room.
"Wow" Lix said, "a room with a whole load of nothing." "Definitely worth walking up all those stairs right?"
"Guess the ideas were running dry" Kenny said. Rik heard creaking in his ear and asked Greg if he heard it. Greg did hear it, the wood was becoming stressed as if something has weakened the floors structure. A small termite jumped up and started to gnaw on Anton's skin.
"Ow!" Anton shouted slapping it off, "what the heck?" The floor then creaked and began to snap.
"We need to move!" Rik yelled. They scramble to the rooms exit but it's too late the wood floor crashed downwards at a slant forcing everyone sliding down. They slid into a stone like room full of termite nests and the termites immediately began to attack.
"Lix freeze them!" Rik shouted. Lix let out a breath of icy air freezing most of the termites. But there were still a considerable amount of termites so they ran as fast as they could out of the room and slammed the door behind themselves. Luckily the door was made out of metal so the termites couldn't get to them. Looking around Rik could see they were in some sort of wine cellar. This wouldn't be so odd except for the fact they previously went up several flights of stairs.
"Well" Kenny said, "this makes no sense, it's almost like every time we enter a room it's randomized."
"Maybe they just wanted their wine aboveground?" Lix suggested.
"There's some stairs over there" Anton said, "we can go that way." So they walked up the stairs and opened the cellar door leading into a sort of bar/lounge area. The bar looked stocked and there was a pool table as well as a jukebox, of course Rik didn't know that and thought it looked weird.
"Weird" Rik said looking over the jukebox playing some tune he never heard of before.
"Hey!" yelled a Man "who the heck are you people and uhm, people animals?" Rik looked at the man, he looked pretty presentable. He had long silky lightish brown looking hair as well as a bit of a moustache that looked well kept. The man wore a white suit and on it was pinned a purplish black rose.
"I am Rik" Rik responds "and this is my boy Greg and my knights." "Lix is the Dracon, Anton is the guy not wearing a helmet and that one there is Kenny."
"Yo" Kenny said.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance" the Man said, "I am Billy Crandel, I have been trapped for a time here now."
"You fell for the trap too?" Rik asked.
"No," Billy said, "I was put in here for nothing at all!" "Betrayed by the one I dared to call a brother!"
"Oh, well that's too bad" Lix said, "anyway you know this place at all?"
"Know this place?" Billy asked, "hardly! But I have drawn a map on what path seems to lead forward from here." "You see, this Mansion is like a maze and eventually if you get too lost you end up back here, this bar area."
"So being here means we are way off" Kenny said, "crud."
"Crud indeed," Billy said, "but I have just about narrowed down the route of escape." "Once I escape I will retrieve my gem and from there I can make things right from there just as I have before."
"Wait" Rik said, "you were a Gem Bearer?"
"You know about that?" Billy said, "yes I was, until my brother trapped me here and stole my gem."
"What did your gem do?" Rik asked
"It could do anything" Billy said, "it had mastery over space and time."
"I think I have that one" Rik said.
"Wait," Billy said, "you do? How'd you get it? What would you want for it back?"
"I found it with some crazy lady" Rik said " it was in another world, and she was using it to open a portal for some crazy monster." "You can just have it back, it caused some problems before and well, I don't want it." After saying this Rik's ears started to ring as the Masked Creature arose from behind Billy.
"Whoa behind you!" Rik shouted. Billy looked behind himself and saw nothing.
"There's nothin" Billy said, "what was it?"
"That Masked creep again" Rik said, "he made the gem to do bad stuff I think, and I think I am the only one that sees him."
"No you are not the only one" Billy said, "he is The Watcher, he watches from the Aether and keeps order no matter what."
"Wait" Lix said, "are we in danger of that thing too?" "I swear I better not just drop dead cause that would be unfair, I would rather have a fighting chance."
"Possibly" Billy said, "but I can tell you because it's the gem". "It ain't yours so I will take it for you and when I do it should go away."
"Really?" Rik asked, "that would be great".
"Good" Kenny said, "so where should we go first?"
"I say we go this way over here" Billy said pointing over at the direction of the door. They go to leave and on the way out Greg spots something on the bar counter. It was a bottle with the word phosphorus scribbled onto it. looked like it could be important so Greg pocketed it. They enter the next room and it was a room full of medieval decor. Suits of armor as well as all kinds of weapons, everyone couldn't help but to take a look at the armory of weapons.
"Nice dagger" Rik said, "wonder if anyone mind us takin some of this stuff."
"Nope" Spooky said suddenly coming up from below the floor. "Take what you will need, you all will need it." Spooky turns and sees Billy.
"Oh" she said, "he is with you? Um you are not letting him go with you, are you?"
"What when we escape?" Kenny said, "yeah why?"
"No reason" Spooky said, "he was the whole reason this place was made." "Oh well, don't want to bore you with details I must go." Spooky then floated straight through the ceiling.
"Wait" Lix said, "so your brother had this ghost girl make this place Billy?"
"Yup" Billy said, "my brother is a reaal sunovab-"
"Hey!" Rik interrupted, "my boy is here watch it."
"Sorry" Billy said, "speaking of which where is the lad?"
"Over there" Anton said, "looks like he found himself a new weapon of choice." Rik looks over at Greg and sees him practicing with a crossbow. Greg lines up his shot and hits the knight armor's head clean off. Greg fist bumps the air in a celebratory fashion and looks back at Rik.
"Oh, hey pa" Greg said, "you see that?"
"Yeah" Rik said, "when have you shot a crossbow before?"
"This was the first time" Greg said.
"What?" Lix said, "that must have been a lucky shot, do it again!" Greg tries to do it again shooting another suit of armor and misses.
"I knew it" Lix said, "but I will give ya credit, it was close." Greg tries a few more times but just barely scrapes the helmet on one attempt.
"Pretty accurate all thing considered" Anton said.
"Yeah" Kenny said, "and he's not off by a mile, pretty good for a first time with a crossbow."
"Yeah" Greg said, "so I can keep it right?"
"Sure Greg" Rik said, "just be careful where you point"
"Of course dad" Greg said, he then looks over at a display case with some stuff in it and picks up something black looking.
"Hey, this is flint" Greg says.
"He's right" Kenny said, "what is that doing here?"
"Who knows" Lix said, "anyway we done here?"
"Yeah" Rik said, "which way Billy?"
"Doorway on the left" Billy said looking over his chicken scratch drawing of a map. Upon entering the next room they see some bodies on the floor, as they approach they begin to arise.
"Hrggh" one of them growled.
"Oh crap" Billy said, "the zombies are back."
"Why are they everywhere in other worlds?" Rik asks.
"Cause, people loves to kill e'm!" Billy said drawing a revolver and shooting at one. Greg hits the other with a bolt but it doesn't stop it. Billy then shoots the other zombie.
"Rule of thumb kid" Billy said, "shoot the undead in the head."
"So the dead can come back to life?" Lix asked, "I hope I don't do that, must stink."
"Well none of you were bitten so it's fine" Billy said. "Anyway carry on folks, this way." The next room made shivers run down Rik's spine, it was a room covered in webbing.
"Oh great" Rik said, "spiders".
"You scared of them?" Lix questioned.
"Big ones aren't too much of a problem" Rik said, "but the little tiny ones that are poisonous? Yeah that's something to be scared of."
"Well you may not like this very much then" Billy said. Spiders started to swarm all over the room.
"Anyone know a fire spell?" Rik said raising a foot up in an attempt to dissuade spiders from climbing on to him. Oddly enough the spiders didn't use their strength in numbers like Rik would expect. Instead they all combined into one mass to form a giant spider as big as the room.
"Wait" Billy said, "where is my phosphorus?" Greg takes the bottle out of his pocket,
"You mean this?" he asks.
"Yes!" Billy said "give it quickly so I can coat my bullets". Greg goes to hand the bottle over but the giant spider sprayed out a web and took Billy's revolver.
"Darn!" Billy shouted.
"Now what?" Lix asked.
"Uh, freeze e'm?" Kenny said.
"I would" Lix said, "but I need somethin to boost my recharge faster, I am still out from the last two times!"
"Wow" Kenny said, "the exact moment we needed it too?"
"Yeah, I know right?" Lix said. Greg took the flint out of his pocket, somehow he felt it made sense to tie it with some spider web to the end of the crossbow.
"What are you doing?" Anton asked.
"This bottle of stuff must cause fire or somethin" Greg said.
"Yes!" Billy said, "it's flammable, the combustion from the revolver would set the coated bullet alight." "I see what you are thinkin kid very clever! Quick coat your bolts in the phosphorus!" Greg does so and quickly loads a bolt and fires. The flint was a bit of an obstruction so the bolts trajectory was off but it still lit the bolt. It caught on some web and the room started to catch alight. Greg fired another at an angle to set flame to the spider, he hit it and the room started to become an inferno.
"Good job Greg!" Rik said, "now let's hotfoot it outta here." "Heh heh, get it?"
"Yeah you're so funny" Lix said, "still outta ice so unless you want to burn let's go!" They leave through the next door that Billy pointed out quickly, they seemed to be safe for now. The room was quite normal looking except for more clown paintings.
"Phew" Kenny said, "finally a break." They leave to exit into the next room but a metal door with no handle slammed down and blocked the doorway. Kenny and Anton are now trapped in the previous room.
"No!" Rik shouted "we have to get them!"
"This never happened before" Billy said. "I don't know if we can even go back now…"
End of Chapter 3
Chapter 4: Escaping the Mansion
Out now! I keep forgetting to update these!