The DiMarco House Roleplay

The town was all but dead - what small houses there were along the sides of the road were dark, seemingly uninhabited, and what people wandered the streets moved about quickly, finishing whatever they had set out to do and hurrying back to the shelter of their darkened homes.

The only building in the town that seemed to have any life to it was the inn in the center of the town. On the ground floor of the inn was a bar and a few tables, and this was where Loren now sat, drinking a shot of whiskey and waiting.

He'd been told this was where the investigation team would meet and be debriefed, but he'd yet to see anyone else from his team or from the village, besides the quiet barkeep who'd given him the alcohol. Frankly, the place was starting to put him on edge.

"Oy!" he called, half turning towards the bar. "Another," he said, raising his glass, and the girl behind the counter darted to get him another whiskey.

((Maps

Floor One:

Spoiler:

Floor Two:

Spoiler:

Floor Three

Spoiler:

Attic: MISSING

Basement: MISSING))

{Attn: Open}

Aaron comes into the hotel with several cases in tow. He looks around at the quiet hotel as he heads to the front desk. He looks down at the email he was sent. Yep right location, he arrives at the desk. “Hello I am Aaron Quest. I am supposed to meet some people here. Do you know where they would be?” The worker points into a lounge off to the side.

Aaron drags the cases into the lounge and looks around. There is only one other man there. Where is the rest of the team? He sits at the bar. “Rum and coke please?”

Loren looked up as another man walked in - finally. With any luck they'd start pouring in. He downed his shot and moved to sit next to the man at the bar.

"Are you one of the team?" he asked, looking the man over critically.

{Attn: Loren}

Aaron sees the man sitting few stools away. He takes the drink from the tender and puts some cash on the bar. He nods and holds out his hand. “Aaron Quest, tech guy. I have everything you will ever need to find and capture the ghosts.” He pats the closest rugged case. “Want to see what I brought? This is just half of it, the rest is in my trunk.” He takes a drink. “Crap manners, who are you?”

[Attn: Loren, Aaron]

Antoinette casually walked into the hotel, her eyes moving left and right as if she was looking for something, or someone. The man Antoinette was looking for would be the key to entering the DiMarco house, and once Antoinette obtained that key, she would finally be able to understand what the victims of the house were like, and finally play her woeful songs for the spirits to hear.

After a few moments, Antoinette found the man she was looking for, sitting at the bar and talking with another unfamiliar man. Antoinette stepped up to the man, appearing as friendly as she possibly could. "You! You're supposed to meet a group of people here right?" She asked him.

[ATTN: Aaron, Antoinette]

"Loren Lenarz," he said, shaking his hand. "Resident expert on the supernatural. I'm supposed to be heading this thing, I guess - "

He jumped as a young woman suddenly approached, nearly knocking his empty shot glass over as he turned to look at her. "Ah, yes?" he said, looking her over quizzically. "And you are...?"

Aaron shakes the man’s hand. “Nice to meet you….” He was about to say more when a female comes in. She approaches Loren and asks about the group. He eyes her critically. Looks like he is going in with a group of rookies, except for himself and Loren. He sits back and takes a swig from his drink as Loren and the girl speak.

[Attn: Aaron, Loren]

"Antoinette Vivelda." The woman answered confidently. "So you're the guy running this expedition? I want in on this." She grinned as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"If you think I'm some tourist, looking for a fun time, you're horribly mistaken. I want to join you guys to learn more about the people who died in that house, and what better way than to group up with a couple of ghost hunters?" Antoinette could tell the two men before her meant business; the way they dressed, their posture, their speech...and there's that rugged case one of the men owned.

[ATTN: Aaron, Antoinette]

He stared at her and raised his eyebrows. "You realize the ghosts in there are hardly friendly," he said flatly. "I don't need some useless tagalong getting herself into trouble in there, okay?" He couldn't believe the girl. The town had to pay him a small fortune to even get him to come here, let alone step inside that hellhole.

[Attn: Loren, Aaron]

Antoinette was taken a bit back by the man's words, but found them to be true. She could get into real trouble if she wandered around like she normally did. "I'm joining you guys whether you like it or not, but I promise I'll try not to get into trouble. How does that sound, sir?" Antoinette put sarcastic emphasis on the word "promise", feeling a little devilish.

{Attn: Antoinette, Loren}

Aaron shakes his head. “Don’t let him scare you, sure it is good to have respect for ghosts, but they feed off of fear. And I...eh…we will protect you.” Aaron holds out his hand. “Antoinette, I am Aaron Quest, the gadget specialist. It is a pleasure to meet you.

Loren, what can you tell us about the place? I like to have a little bit of history before heading in.” Aaron explains as he takes another drink.

[ATTN: Antoinette, Aaron]

Loren rolled his eyes and shrugged at her words. "Sounds like a plan," he said. No point in trying to dissuade her, from the look on her face.

He glanced over at Aaron at his words, and shrugged. The girl's wellbeing wasn't his concern. He only cared about his team and his mission. "Mm, yeah," he said, leaning forward against the counter, reaching into the bag at his side. He'd done a little research on the place before coming here, and he did manage to dig up a little. "Apparently the house was occupied fifty years ago or so by some rich family. Heir to the family dies and all of the sudden all of the rest of them kick the bucket under mysterious circumstances."

He shrugged. "There's been nothing else from the place up until about now. People disappearing, their bodies turning up outside the house already decomposing." He scrunched his nose up. "And that's all I have. I think someone's supposed to show to say something more, but I haven't seen anyone yet..."

[Attn: Aaron, Loren]

Antoinette smiled as she shook Aaron's hand. "Pleasure to meet you as well, Aaron. And don't worry; I'm more inclined to meeting the ghosts rather than fearing them." She found Aaron's advice about Loren a bit amusing, although she never showed it. After the exchange, Loren told the group about the house's history. It was nothing new compared to news articles she had read, but it was a nice reminder.

"Do you have the guy's number?" Antoinette asked.

[ATTN: Aaron, Antoinette]

"Ah, yeah," he said, pulling his phone out, "but I was going to wait for the rest of the team to show, I thought there were supposed to be more of us..."

He grimaced. Likely most of them had bailed. He couldn't really blame them, he guessed.

Aaron sighs. “I wouldn’t wait too much longer I want to get the chance to explore the house and set up my equipment before it gets too late. Until then I guess we can get to know one another. Anyone want to see the equipment I have?” He raises his eyebrows hoping they would say yes.

[ATTN: Aaron, Antoinette]

"Uh, sure," Loren started, before someone else walked into the bar area.

He was tall, well dressed, young, and behind his mask of confidence it was very obvious he was nervous. He gave them a small smile as he approached, a folder in his hand.

"You are the investigation team?" he asked them, stopping near them, scanning the three of them as Loren turned to look at him.

"The beginnings of it," Loren said, looking at him, and the man gave them an awkward smile.

"The mayor gives you his thanks for looking into this matter for us. He asked, ah, that I give you this," he said, setting the folder on the counter of the bar. "There's a map in there of the house - well, an old one, of course, no one's mapped the thing out in a while - and some information on the recent, ah, events..."

He trailed off and cleared his throat. "Do you have any, ah, questions?"

{Attn: All}

“Whoa, the mayor’s involved? Must be some pretty freaky shit happening if city hall is involved. What do you mean by recent events. What are we getting ourselves into?” Aaron questions as he whistles. He wonders if he has taken one case too many. Oh well such is the life of an investigator.

[Attn: All]

Antoinette merely waited for Aaron to show his equipment when another man stepped into the bar. He wore a cheap smile that made Antoinette want to mess with him a little, just for fun. Instead, she let the man say whatever he needed to say and save the mischief for later. Antoinette had the same question Aaron asked, so she closely listened to the other guy's response.

[ATTN: Aaron, Antoinette]

"Ah - more details on the hauntings, for lack of a better word? As well as the recent deaths in the community..." The man cleared his throat awkwardly. "The file does include photos. I recommend not looking them over if you're squeamish."

Loren grimaced, and the man continued on hurriedly. "Again, you will be paid handsomely for simply determining the reason for the deaths. People like to talk about ghosts, but, well, we can't know for sure."

“So you want us to investigate to make sure it is the ghosts that are killing these people? Isn’t that the job of the police to investigate murders?” Aaron questions. He doesn’t like the sound of this. Ghosts don’t kill for a reason, and when they do it is not a good one.

[ATTN: Antoinette, Aaron]

"Normally it is," he said. "But... our police have no experience with the supernatural. It's your area of expertise."

He looked at them hopefully. "You will take the case?" he asked. "Again, you will be paid handsomely."

{Attn:All}

Again the pay is not the only reason why he is here. Yes it is a nice, in this case REALLY nice. Maintaining all this gear is not cheap. Then again what good is the money if one is dead? “I am here aren’t I? Aaron answers. “Let’s get this over with.”

[Attn: All]

Antoinette agreed that it was the police's job to investigate deaths, but she couldn't resist meeting the ghosts face to face. The money was only a bonus. "Of course we'll take the job," She insisted. "The sooner we get going, the sooner you guys get your money and the sooner I get what I want to know." Antoinette adjusted her glasses with an impatient grin.

[ATTN: Aaron, Antoinette]

The man seemed relieved. "Thank you, thank you so much," he said. "The folder has maps, but they're old blueprints, so they're not exactly in the best shape..." He shrugged, apologetic. "But most of the layout is still there. We're missing a few floors entirely, but it should be enough for a start."

He was already starting to back away towards the door. "I wish you the best of luck," he said, waving before he left in a rush.

Loren sighed, pulling the maps from the folder and looking them over. "Well," he said. "Shall we get started?"

((NOTE: A rough sketch of the layout of the floors of the mansion will be added to the first post. The two ground floors are known, and several floors are partially known or missing altogether. Several parts of the house may also differ from the original map. As you explore, the maps will be updated with new information. Good luck!))

[Attn: Aaron, Loren]

Antoinette took a quick look at the maps and shrugged at Loren's question. "What else are we here to do?" She responded. With that, she picked up her violin case which she had let sit on the floor next to her. Her excitement clearly showed as she held the case on her shoulder. Despite the supposed danger of walking into that haunted house, Antoinette dared not think about turning back.