>>6134026Peering around the door, you see what frightened Elle so much. Lying on the bedroom floor is a discarded mannequin of some sort, lifelike in that eerie way of theirs. Kneeling down for a closer look, you move it around a little bit. It's heavier than you expected, with metal pieces beneath the porcelain skin. Judging by the complex, articulated joints, it would have been quite flexible – a child's toy, really, only scaled up to full human size.
“What is it?” Elle asks, “I mean, aside from the obvious.”
“It looks like a mannequin,” you tell her, stating the obvious, “I don't know, what else can I tell you? What it's for, what it was doing here... those are questions that I can't answer.”
“Ugh,” she murmurs, “I hate-”
Before she can finish that sentence, a grating shriek rings out from the main entrance. Instantly forgetting the mannequin, you leap to your feet and rush back to the hall. At first, you don't see any sign of what could have made such an unsightly sound, but then you look up towards the ceiling. Mounted high up in the corners are several human heads, all crafted from worn brass. Their mouths are sculpted to be wide open, with a dense metal mesh visible between their jaws. The screech continues for a moment more before dying suddenly, cut off to be replaced by a harsh, atonal voice.
“More visitors, is it?” the voice snarls, robbed of any identifying features by the grating, metallic quality of it, “My, it's getting very busy here all of a sudden.”
“Who are you? Show yourself!” you shout back, before glancing aside to Elle with a vaguely foolish feeling, “Do you think they can hear us?”
“Of course I can hear you!” the voice replies immediately, “Did you really think that you could escape my notice? You, who creeps and crawls through my corridors?”
Did they really have to make it sound so... weird?
“But I am a gracious host, and you have aroused my curiosity,” it continues, perhaps softening slightly, “Proceed. But remember, I will be watching you.”
With those final words, the brass heads let out another screech before lapsing into silence. That silence is soon broken by a groan of the inner doors grinding open, the clock above moving until the hands read one.
“It's funny, isn't it?” you remark, staring at the open door, “Before, I was wondering how we might get that door to open. Now, I almost wish it had stayed closed.”
“Stop whining,” Usik grunts, moving on ahead through the open door. You follow him with a muttered curse, stopping in your tracks once you see what awaits you within. Even Usik seems shaken, staring up at the ceiling in confused awe.
The entrance hall had been somewhat normal, almost too normal given the circumstances. But this inner chamber is anything but normal.
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