Chapter Text
There was a window in his assigned room.
The curtains were drawn, but the scenery beyond the delicately scratched and frosted glass panes remained a pitch black void. No matter how hard he squinted there were no shapes Eli could discern, not even a wavering branch or two from the trees he remembered seeing outside on his way in. Unnerving, it made something skitter along his skin, a second sense for danger long since intertwined with his thoughts. The darkness beyond the ornate window seemed absolute, the maw of a great beast creeping ever closer.
Or, perhaps, the Mansion lay already swallowed at the pit of its guts. Eli shook his head sharply to loosen the morbid thoughts from his head, clutching his blindfold harder in one fist.
All three hands of the clock hung high on the wall beside his door lay still at 12:00. The ticking had cut the silence like a knife the night before, but the quiet left in its absence was jarring. It hadn’t been much earlier than the stopped hour when he’d stumbled into the room with his travel bag, exhausted, but Eli felt rested enough that he doubted it was still in the dead hours of the night despite the darkness outside his window. The time felt impossible to place, and he swallowed uneasily.
He’d already dressed himself after rolling out of bed, the unfamiliar mattress comfortable enough to drag him into a deep sleep despite the uncomfortably eerie surroundings of the Oletus Manor. Eli gently picked up the crinkled parchment that had been waiting for him when he’d found his room the night before, propped up in waiting with emerald green ink shining in the candlelight.
Dearest Seer;
Thank you very much for your acceptance of such short notice invitation, and we pray you found your quarters with little trouble. This room has been prepared for your arrival and usage, and you and your feathered companion are more than welcome to make yourselves at home and rest.
When you should awaken, please make your way to the foyer of the Manor to meet your fellow allies. You will be instrumental to each other at succeeding the trials that await between you and the victorious prize.
Further instructions await you there, Seer.
Lastly, a few cautionary warnings. The front door is locked and strictly off-limits. Any attempt to unlock it before the end of the game will bring swift punishment and removal.
Compliance with all written instructions is mandatory. Refusal at any time will be seen as forfeit, and bring swift punishment and removal.
Your safety within these grounds is not guaranteed - as was written on your initial invitation; expect danger, and be sufficiently prepared to have it threaten your life. You were one of the rare few selected to participate in this experiment, for what we hope is good reason. Show us that we did not choose wrong.
Let not your will to live flicker or your blade dullen, and push forward until you reach the dawn.
We wish you well, and pray for your fortune and perseverance.
Eli skimmed over the words once again, a tight frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. ‘It still bothers me that this letter is clearly addressed to me, and not… I just don’t understand. How could they have known?’ Eli folded it up carefully in-between gloved fingers, and slipped the eerie message into his pouch. He felt oddly grateful to have it out of sight.
He swallowed heavily as he reached up to tie his blindfold back, interrupted only by a soft hoot. Turning to face the dresser in the far corner of the room he’d been given, his eyes scaled it’s height until he found a single round orb peering at him from the darkness. Eli smiled. “There you are, old friend. I was wondering if you were going to wake up any time soon.”
Another hoot rang out in answer and the owl swooped down to his shoulder from atop her makeshift perch. 'She looks so uncomfortable in these close quarters.' He thought, heart warming as she nuzzled her beak against his cheek. "Sorry that I can't let you stretch your wings outside, Popo. None of the windows I've found are unlocked, and I think they've made their feelings quite clear on any of us leaving the Manor." Eli spoke softly. “Bear with me for just a little while, will you?”
This time, her answer was a much lower coo. The sound brought his smile the tiniest bit wider. Finally, with no more distractions, he pulled the soft black cloth tight against his eyes and tied it off in a deft knot. The fabric left his vision hazy, yet not fully obscured. Eli spared one last glance at the quiet room and swiftly set out into the hallway, the door giving way with a long creak.
“Guide me well, old friend.” He whispered, gloved fingertips gingerly brushing the symbol on the center of his blindfold.
The halls seemed just the same as he remembered from his way in the night before; dark, gloomy, and mysterious. Shadows flickered upon the walls and ground on all sides, cast by dimly lit candles spaced evenly throughout the hall. Beneath his feet, a dull red rug that muffled his every step, its ends fraying wildly with time. Eli followed it quietly, not bothering to stop and poke his head in any other doors. He remembered the path better than he’d expected to.
Soon, he stepped out into a wide open and well-lit room that seemed at ends with the rest of the Manor’s claustrophobic layout. An enormous brass chandelier hung in the center of the foyer, the entirety of which he had a surprisingly clear vantage of from the top of the stairs. In the golden light from above, the red rugs that continued into the foyer seemed shades brighter. Even the smaller candles along the walls and the seemingly polished wood of the rail between Eli and the ground floor of the foyer seemed to shine almost unnaturally.
However - despite it’s clear beauty - it wasn’t the grand hall that had Eli’s attention caught, but the three other figures loitering around down below. Where they may had been conversing earlier, it seemed that all three of them had noticed his arrival and fallen silent. Three pairs of eyes stared up at him, conveying various different levels of surprise. He quickly squeezed his own shut to peer through his companion’s sharper gaze.
The first man stood the closest to the stairs and almost directly below Eli’s position at the head of the balcony. The man’s cold eyes seemed nearly blank, his barely knitted brows the only indication of any emotion going on behind the scenes. His pose was stiff, all elegance and grace but none of the patience. A locked silver briefcase was placed next to one of his feet. He was dressed head to toe in a sleek grey suit, with similarly colored shoulder-length hair pulled back into a tiny ponytail. Curiously, he wore a face mask across his mouth. ‘ Perhaps he’s sick…?’ Eli pondered, but the man was nearly unreadable.
The second was further back, leaning casually against a support pillar with his hands linked behind his head. Right away, he seemed the friendliest of the three - a carefree smile curled his lips and his eyes shined brightly. The skin around one of his eyes looked scarred, but it didn’t diminish the man’s strikingly good looks at all. Black hair framed his face with style, heavily contrasted by his clothes - the second man was decked out in what appeared to be a dirty mining outfit, complete with a lopsided candle-topped hat.
The third man was standing the farthest from the staircase, on his own hovering besides one of the downstairs doors. With his arms crossed in front of his chest and stitched face pulled in a pensieve frown, he certainly gave off an intimidating air. His eyes seemed sharp, and though they were directed at where Eli’s gaze would have been had he been ‘himself,’ he felt the burn all the same. Like Eli, he wore a large hood, but the third man’s hung much looser around his shoulders. Large pads adorned his forearms; combined with the combat boots, Eli surmised the last man to be a fighter.
Stronger than anything else, though, was the feeling of nostalgia he got when he looked at the three of them. A rush of deja-vu flooded his senses, and he couldn’t help but shiver. Eli’s mind came up blank with answers, but the feeling that he’d seen the three of them before stayed like a bad meal. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall any visions or places they might have appeared in, and the pull went unanswered as the second man seemed to snap out of his surprise at Eli’s appearance.
“Mornin’,’ sleepy head! You must be our missing man!” He shouted up, complete with a friendly wave. Eli snapped back into his own head with only a small stumble and returned the man’s joviality with a small smile of his own.
“And you must be the three teammates my second letter spoke of. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Eli nodded to each of them individually as he stepped down the staircase. “Apparently, I’m supposed to introduce myself as the Seer. Though that seems a bit presumptuous, especially concerning my… circumstances, so you’re welcome to just call me Eli.” A loud hoot followed, and he chuckled lightly. “And, of course, my friend Popo. She doesn’t like to be left out.”
“The… Seer?” The fighter spoke up quietly. “Seer, as in…”
“Magic? Like, a fortune teller? Oh, man, are you a witch or something?” The miner looked alarmed, but took a few steps forward until he was close enough to reach a hand out towards Eli’s owl. He glanced back to Eli in clear question, and Eli nodded. He reached a single finger out to scratch under the owl’s chin, and Popo’s eye closed happily.
The fighter frowned at them. “That can’t be right. None of that’s real.”
The man in the grey suit finally spoke up. His voice was soft and quiet. “Do not be so quick to write off the supernatural. You would be surprised to find what lurks in the crevices of this world.”
Eli nodded, shooting him an appreciative smile. “That’s correct. The title certainly comes from my possession of the Great Eye, although I have to wonder... how our mysterious benefactor dredged up that little tidbit of information. I was never exactly open about it.”
The man in the hood drew back slightly, his eyes still trained upon Eli. “This is a bit hard to believe.”
“No, no, that’s easy! Just, ah-” The miner pulled out a coin and tossed it between his fingers. “Here, I’ll toss this! Just tell us how it’s gonna land before it does!”
Hoodie shook his head. “That- a coin toss is a fifty-fifty chance. That’s not nearly enough proof to-”
Eli waved his hands awkwardly, a sick feeling curdling at the pit of his gut. “Ah, don’t worry about any of that. After all, I can’t really use it anymore.” He said with a forced laugh and a shrug. “That’s why I’m here.”
The silence that fell over the room was stifling.
The fighter continued to stare at him.
“Well!” The man in the mining suit said with a couple of goofy steps backwards. His voice was pitched light to break the tension, but it fell a bit flat. “Speaking of all that, introductions! Sorry for jumping on you like that, Seer.”
“Ah- that is, you can just call me-”
“I’m the Prospector, I guess! I’ve got some really nifty magnets. I’m here because I’m… in a bit of a jam, really. If I win this, they help me out of it.” Prospector says with a grin. “Simple, that.”
Eli sighed at the subtle refusal to share names, and nodded. “Alright, Prospector.” He turned to the man in the suit. “You?”
Grey suit regarded him cooly, but spoke up from behind his mask. “Embalmer. I have a talent for it.” He raised his suitcase off the floor slightly. “This is my kit. I’m looking for somebody here. I don’t know who.”
Eli blinked, eyelashes brushing against fabric.
Prospector grinned and barked out a laugh. “Yeah, I thought the same thing. Thought whoever walked through that door wasn’t gonna one-up him, either, but here you are.”
Despite himself, Eli breathed a small chuckle. He was more than well aware of how he looked. The good humor didn’t seem to reach Embalmer, though, as the man continued to regard them cooly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Seer. I hope we work well together.” He spoke softly, voice somewhat muffled by his mask.
“You as well.” Eli replied. He looked over at the last unnamed man. The silence stretched on just a tad past what was comfortable, before he finally opened his mouth.
“I’m Mercenary.” The man murmured, still frowning. He was quiet for long enough after that Eli was about to continue, but a surprising “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, earlier,” tumbled out last.
The absence of the second half of their little impromptu introduction speech was glaring, but Eli shrugged it off. ‘No sense in alienating him by bringing it up if he doesn’t want to talk about it.’ He thought. ‘ They’re keeping a distance from each other and me by withholding their actual names. Even the friendly one - Prospector - seems to be trying to keep to himself a bit. Guess I botched that one on my way in, didn’t I? Ah, well. It’s fine. I’ve never been comfortable hiding much, anyways.’
Popo trilled a low, accusing hoot beside him.
Eli peered at her. ‘Yes, yes, I’m well aware. Me saying too much is, indeed, the root of the problem. Go on, please.’ She glared back up at him, fond reproach visible in her single eye.
“Alright, I’ve gotta ask, what’s with the owl? The blindfold too, for that matter?” Prospector asked curiously, leaning in to examine her closer. “Not that she’s not a beauty. Well trained, too.” Popo fluffed her feathers a bit, drawing herself up and basking in the attention. “Is it, like… a-” He leaned in even closer to Eli, eyebrows raising. “- A, y’know, magic thing?”
Eli frowned. “... Yes, I suppose you... could put it like that.” He said. “You’re not entirely wrong.”
Embalmer’s low voice cut through whatever Prospector was going to say next. “Not that I do not enjoy this meaningless chatter, but perhaps we should return to the heart of the matter.” All three heads turned to look in his direction as Embalmer waved a long-fingered hand towards a small table resting directly below the balcony that Eli hadn’t noticed before. It was adorned with a bouquet of dusty red poppies within a milk white vase - his eyes were drawn, however, to a familiar parchment propped up against the ceramic.
“Another letter.” Eli murmured, swallowing harshly. He glanced around at the size of the hall they stood in, guessing that they were going to be there for a while, and motioned for Popo to use the time to stretch her wings. She hooted appreciatively and took to the air, making the best of the cramped quarters. “Don’t go too far,” he whispered.
Prospector nodded. “We decided earlier to wait for all of us to be here before we opened it.”
Eli hummed in thanks. As Embalmer picked up the paper and unfolded it, Eli was vaguely aware of Mercenary behind him, finally moving in a bit closer to the rest of the group to see. He caught a glimpse of shining red ink in the candlelight as the paper crinkled in Embalmer’s careful grasp.
The man cleared his throat, and began to read.
Dearest Survivors,
Welcome to the Oletus Manor. We pray you have met your fellows safely and gotten off to a friendly start, as teamwork will be instrumental in your success.
Let us get to the subject of the Game.
Your stay here will last for seven days, and seven nights. The condition for your victory is simple - survive until the breaking of the final dawn.
The days will belong to you and you are welcome to spend them however you may see fit here within the manor - sleeping, eating, and resting is recommended, as is engaging with your teammates to build stronger bonds. However, for each of the seven nights, you will all be removed from the manor to participate in the Game itself, the nature of which will become clear to you when you arrive. If you are not quick and you are not careful, you will die.
This is the First Day. When the clock strikes the promised hour, please return to your given bedrooms and go to sleep. The next you awaken, the Game will begin.
Prepare yourself accordingly, for the reaper readies his sickle with the rising of the moon.
We wish you well, and pray for your fortune and perseverance.