Work Text:
Statement of Tango Tek regarding his renovations to the Citadel Hotel. Original Statement given September 8, 2023. Audio recording by Pixl Riffs, Head Archivist of the Hermit Institute, Canada. Statement begins.
Statement of Pearl Moon regarding her recent visit to Citadel Hotel. Original Statement given December 12, 2023. Audio recording by Pixl Riffs, the Archivist. Statement begins.
You know that moment after spending months on a project when you finally step back and see it all? The awe and glory of a dream finally realized after countless “Trust the process” reassurances? This was that day. I had been here before for things but this? It was much more than anything I had ever constructed before; become so much more than anything I could have ever realized. It is bigger than me now, both in the grand scheme of things and in literal height. The towers alone dwarf the skyline as it seems to grow with every glance up and engulf you in its presence. It … no. SHE deserves that much. Because she was alive, and she yearned for every victim she swallowed.
I used to not be so scared of the dark. It was just the absence of light; nothing really changed all that much. It was just … that. Dark. It didn’t have that same awe and menace that my friends described it as when we were all kids. “Oh the monster under your bed comes out in the dark and eats the bad kids!” and other tall tales like it. I always kinda liked the dark. There was a sense of quiet solitude and comfort I found that I could get anywhere else. But that changed. I get that fear now: that fear of constant being on alert around you, the fear of what’s hidden in the corners, the fear of the monster that lurks just out of sight in the pitch black. That fear lives in me now. It probably will haunt me to the end of days. This paralysis I will now have because of that one hotel: Citadel.
I knew what I wanted from her when this whole project started. A strong imposing structure that both screamed “Come in if you dare” and “Figure out my secrets you curious traveler” all at once. To be effective you must both strike fear and intrigue, to both get new victims and instill a sense of deep seeded terror in them the second they hear their footsteps echo in the empty hall and the giant doors slam shut behind them. I could see it, clear in my mind before even the first brick was laid down as if a gift from the Dark itself. My magnum opus realized. Ravenger Ranch was simply a test phase; it would be nothing compared to this.
I’m not really local to this area but I visit quite a lot and I don’t remember … that beast looking the way it did the last time. It was covered in black brick that was the main component of five huge towers. Even the smallest of the five was easily 10-12 stories high. It seemed to bring a chill to the air around it as well with the teal and purple accents and the ice bridge leading up to the gaping entrance. It looked like a mouth, the sharp part of the gate forming teeth with angry eyes glaring you down. Like it was daring you to come in but also leave while you still could. But I was never one to back down from a challenge. And certainly one that seemed to be calling my name. Literally … the whispers on the wind seemed to know who I was and called me. So I decided to explore. The lobby was huge but filled with empty little enclaves, like it was meant to display the trophies of players that never made it back out. I couldn’t leave once I entered, at least not the way I came. So the only way through was down. Signs pointed the way to another set of huge double doors with the letters D and F carved into the wood. As I pushed them open, someone from a loudspeaker said, “We present the Dungeon its next victim.” I was determined to prove it wrong so I hopped into the little minecart track waiting to take me and I went into the depths. There was a simple set of instructions posted right before you stepped off a little platform into the gauntlet itself: Go to Level 4, find the Dungeon Master’s Key, Return to the Exit, or die trying.
She feels endless. Corridors that loop back on one another and traps that cut off your path to the horrors that lay inside. Every time you feel success she’ll go another layer deeper with more complexities and even more dangers. Logistically there’s only four levels: The Frozen Crypt, The Caves of Carnage, The Black Mines and The Burning Dark. But each level gets darker and more complex as time passes, and more creations get unleashed to have their fill. There are levels to each for “players” to explore and find riches to their heart's content. Only when they find the ultimate key on the fourth level may the most daring and clever escape with their lives and their booty. Because they are not alone here; there are monsters lurking in the depths. Mutant bulls that follow you as long as they see you, with horns that could easily rip through your spine. Living ghosts that floated around with swords and attacked if you overstayed your welcome too long. Spiders that are way bigger than any human willing to poison you or eat you alive. And that was the easier first two levels. The bottom levels were home to The Warden.
I wish I had a map or compass guiding me because that place … it was a labyrinth. A maze designed to confuse and hold you as long as possible. The first floor was filled with ice tunnels and treacherous gaps filled with spikes that could easily kill me if I fell. Decaying corpses and skeletons littered wide corridors where … Those things had the space to charge you. Dried blood covered the walls in those areas too. It was hard to look at, especially considering a lot of the time I was trying my hardest to not die the same way these people did. It was hard to find the key I was supposed to use to unlock the next level or focus on the gold coins and crowns scattered on the floor when the sound of a heartbeat rings constantly in your ears among the sounds of heavy footsteps and high pitched cackling. I don't know how I made it out of Level 1, let alone the whole thing. Level 2 brought it even harder with more things trying to kill you and more varied terrain. Lava and magma pits mixed with an entire ship on a lake in the same level. At least I think it was. There were so many floors that blended together that only the theme was able to tell me when one had shifted to another. And then Level 3. A mineshaft with a hole in the center that spiraled down and down with darkness that physically seemed to crawl up your skin as you tried your best to sneak around … whatever that monster was. I don't even think I have the words to describe it; it looked like nothing I’d ever seen before.
It’s about twice the size as the tallest humans. Long arms that nearly drag across the ground as it sniffs out its prey, lumbering towards you. It may not have eyes but it can still hear even the slightest noise from miles away. And you don’t even need to be near it to die to it, as the glowing heart in its open chest can unleash a sonic blast capable of destroying you. Assuming it doesn’t catch you and beats you or tosses you into the air with all its might. The colors blend in with the dark so well and it really seemed to be the piece de resistance to the whole place.
Its mouth was shaped into an open ended frown that never moved. It didn’t have eyes but that didn’t seem to matter as it always seemed to know where I was through smell alone. Bones grew out of its freakishly long arms as its own ribs began to rip its chest apart and hold it open. And a glowing blue heart that seemed to beat in time with mine. At least, I think it was mine. The whole dungeon felt like it had a heartbeat of its own that I was chugging along to as I tried to sneak past the towing creatures to find the keys I needed. But they were always there, in the mines of level 3 and the darkness that permeated level 4. You could never escape them. Turn one corner and you could hear them sniffing, trying their best to find you. Not a noise could be uttered otherwise they would be right on top of you. Your footsteps weren’t even safe as you echoed across stone tile or squished against pulsating veins of some dark twinkling slime. Traps hidden in the walls and floors screamed out your location if you triggered them, bringing the monsters ever closer. A constant game of cat and mouse where everyone knew the rules and game board but me. No matter where I ran, they could catch up. They would always be behind them. I just did my best to make sure I had a big enough lead.
Many have tried to conquer the Citadel. Very few have succeeded. It claims more lives every second, and it is very pleased with that fact. I may call myself the Dungeon Master but she is an entirely new beast. She lives and breathes and Slaughters to grow more powerful and stronger. The monsters that dwell within her walls become scarier and Stranger. Her walls begin to distort and her hallways begin to Spiral in on themselves. The Darkness grows with her as each player meets their End either within her or through escaping. And those that do escape will spread her call to others and bring more to appreciate and fear her. She appreciates each and every one. No longer is she a hotel; she is Deep Frost Citadel. A challenge or a tomb. She is The Ultimate Dungeon, and she is hungry for her next victim. Statement Ends
The solution to escaping was easy enough: find a bomb in one of the watchtowers on the last level and use it to blast through the wall protecting the final key to the exit. The hardest part was all the noise the explosion made, and the fact that the exit was all the way back up on Level one. All the stuff you barely escaped to make it down will be your reckoning on the way up if you’re not careful. But somehow I either was or just got very lucky. I made it back and out of that place alive. Not without some scrapes and bruises but they will heal. But I don’t know if I ever will, fully at least. I left out a lot of the details for brevity’s sake but … there were some close calls. Moments I didn’t know if I’d ever make it back out again. But here I am. And yet, it still stands. I don’t know if it will ever come down again or it will become a permanent fixture that forever beckons me. Even now, months after my crawl through the Dungeon I hear it. The call to play again. To run it once more and see if I can survive and maybe take home some riches the next go around. I have been fighting the urge but it’s hard sometimes when I walk past its open doors and it whispers my name once more. But it will not win. I have conquered it once and it will not take me down into its deep dark depths again. Statement Ends.
Supplemental: While this did nothing to discuss the actual way the renovations of Citadel hotel came to be, it does give good insight into what actual the mind of its creator is like. The implications of the monsters inside and the structure itself are fascinating though. A place seeming to constantly evolve and almost appear alive that seems to have taken a lot less time for a typical structure of its size to appear is certainly something to keep an eye on as more statements about the place hopefully come in. I am curious, however, if the Ravengers Ranch mentioned is included as part of a statement in the archives. I’ll have Sloy or Lyarrah take a look when they’re not busy with all the other research and much needed organization they are helping with.
Supplemental: I have paired Ms Moon’s statement with that of Statement #0230809 as it provided more direct commentary from the Avatar that created Deep Frost Citadel as to the particular horrors she is experiencing. However, reading once more over Mr. Tek’s statement does seem to imply that the Dark that he is associated with may not be the only Entity associated with the former hotel. At the very least the Spiral helped with the layout and the Stranger may have helped in the creation of Monsters like the Warden. Maybe I can interview Mr. Fan and Mr. Slab to see if they can offer any insights into possible contributions to this project. The solo run also seems to imply the involvement of The Lonely, and the high mortality rate and method of death could imply End and Slaughter influence. The latter of the last 2 Entities seem like more of a stretch but it is possible to look into. Further investigation needed.