[/hide] [hide=Dragoonson]Oriel groaned.He had regained consciousness only recently and almost immediately had his head willing itself to implode.The aching was terrible,it felt similar to being assaulted by six men with clubs,maybe worse.Something seemed to be missing,he couldn't place it,but there was that feeling. He struggled to focus his mind,struggled to block out the incessant pounding in his head,struggled to remember where he was,or at least how long he had been here.All he drew was uncertainty,there had been no interaction between him or anybody else to his knowledge,and he could barely see far past his legs,save for a light somewhere beyond his reach.In fact,it seemed the only thing that existed was himself,and even that was hardly certain. He blinked,and now he could see clearly the light came from behind some bars,and it rested on a table.Half-expecting he would be restrained in some way,he raised his hand to rub his throbbing temples.His hand's sudden refusal to reach all the way without moving the other,along with a clanking of chains,proved his expectations true. A sudden thud,the product of iron striking stone resonated into the cell,startling him back into a more alert state.Still seated on the floor,he scampered in retreat of the light.Once more the sound of the striking entered his cell,louder this time.All aches and pains forgotten,he reached to the dagger on his belt.Missing.The realisation of figuring out at least one of the mysteries,however,was outweighed by the possibility of death.He struggled to move further back into his cell,arms flailing in the process. He was hit in the face by something,it hadn't hit hard enough to have been from an assailant.Perplexed,he thought about for a second or two until he realised how far apart his hands were-he had slipped free of the manacles! He stepped through the doorway,which presumably opened while he was preoccupied with getting away.He hardly noticed it,however,and gingerly picked up the lantern,convinced the handle would give way to rust and break.Before turning away,he noted a book on the table.Curiousity took over and he moved closer to read it.The tome seemed to be antique,its binding frayed.It was untitled.Carefully lifting the cover,he studied the content. It seemed to him that it was a diary,albeit one with very few posts.The handwriting gave him a sense of déja vu,and though slightly messy,Oriel found himself able to read it with relative ease. Day 1,at the house. Totally empty.I have thought over why why I took the contract,but besides good pay,I found no reason.Its late,I'm tired.Normally I'd have obeyed the instructions given not to sleep in the bedrooms upstairs,but the only alternatives are hardly comfortable to sleep.For reference,my alternatives are the dungeon,the study and the sitting area.Not ideal.This house,by the way,creeps me out.Every painting,every wall seems to watch you. Day 2,still at the house. Couldn't sleep much.Damn walls still watch me.I could've sworn something was moving around the house,but they made no sound,so it could've just been a shadow.Forget upstairs,we'll go with the dungeon.I have to check if I missed anything in the house,so I might as well.This place is freaky,it feels like something is creeping around.Those rules he listed,I better follow them. Don't sleep in the bedrooms upstairs. Don't touch any of the black books in the study. Don't touch the glass after dark. Don't stare at the walls. These make no sense,but since the last time I broke a rule I didn't like it,I'll adhere to them.Will leave tomorrow. Day 3,still at the house,dammit. Dungeon is cold,can barely think.Almost forgot I'm supposed to leave today.This was a waste of time,nothing is left in the house.Might've touched a black book,too.Can't be horrible,right?Should leave,hopefully Gendello hasn|(The expected apostrophe has been replaced by a jagged line,as if the writer was in a struggle in the midst of writing.All the text after this has been written in a more rough font)You will not leave.You will stay.Forget,remember,live,die.I will watch you always.I will make you stay.I will torment you.ARISHNETHA K'THUN ARISHNETHA K'THAKNA O-SIL RGUSH TLI'AST. DGRUSKNA ISK-ISK HARGRUUMTS NAVENDIS ORASHK- Oriel quickly shut the book,he hadn't realised he'd been reading aloud,and that he was shouting the foul language.The words were alien to him,they scared him to the point he could barely stand.He looked at the tome absently.He had read it,but all the contents seemed to have slipped his mind.Ignoring his instinct to re-read it,he climbed the winding staircase afore him. He found himself a hallway,presumably the entrance hall.Looking up,he noticed the ceiling was entirely glass,albeit stained,translucent glass.There was one clear,transparent circle in the midst of all the stained dark blue,however,and it seemed to Oriel that it was some sort of focal lens.A shift in the light source-presumably Oriel had moved the lantern in his awe-caused the light pouring through the lens to flicker and,for a moment Oriel saw the most horrifying vision he had ever seen.It was like staring into hell,finding your dead self waving back at you as he ate his own brain,and reaching for yours when he finished-all in a second. He blinked.He looked back at the lens,thinking to himself it could make some beautiful images when the light passed from the right angles,though he knew not why he thought that.Shrugging,he turned and headed back to his cell,placing the lantern-which was now flickering out-back on the desk.He lay his head on his arms,and fell into a deep slumber. Oriel groaned.He awoke with a painful migraine and a strange sense of déja vu.The sort you get when mugged by the same group of people twice.[/hide]