Staying Put
by verityvirtue (2016)
Genres: Slice of life

After hell went down over the Grémillet thing, Subramaniam helped you find this place. You'll have to lay low for a while, so that means not getting out of this room  or at least downstairs  until all this blows over. Subra said he'd call you when he'd "settled things". Five days have passed, and Subramaniam hasn't called back. Already you've started waking later and later.

action: %
response: After hell went down over the Grémillet thing, Subramaniam helped you find this place. You'll have to lay low for a while, so that means not getting out of this room — or at least downstairs — until all this blows over. Subra said he'd call you when he'd "settled things".

Five days have passed, and Subramaniam hasn't called back. Already you've started waking later and later.

This is a room in an attic, one of hundreds of other rooftops and balconies. There's a skylight, nominally to let in natural light, but seeing as it's so caked up with pigeon doings and dirt, it's not much use. There's a bed, a desk and a chair.

You might leave the room to the south, when it's quieter. You can get to the washroom from the hallway.
action: You look at the desk
response: This desk is an imposing secondhand thing. It predates your arrival, and, indeed, the construction of this building. If you were of that kind of mindset, you'd have thought it might have been haunted, it's that kind of furniture.

Underneath, a bar fridge hums away merrily.
action: You look at the fridge
response: You remember Subra grumbling about this, but you'd insisted that you would need it if you were to stay in one place for an extended period of time.

A tiny thing which whirs constantly. It'll keep your sandwiches and drinks cold, at least.
action: You open the fridge
response: You open the bar fridge, revealing a bottle of juice, a chocolate and
a muffin.
action: You look at the muffin
response: This is no ordinary muffin. This is a cheese and onion-flavoured monster of a baked confection, almost as high as your hand. Subra had got someone to get it from one of the fancier market stalls around Walled City yesterday.
action: You look at the juice
response: One of your last purchases before you had to go into hiding. It's a rare luxury you occasionally allow yourself - not that you necessarily believe that the organic apple, passionfruit and mango smoothie will help you live longer, it just tastes nice.
action: You examine the chocolate
response: A supermarket brand of chocolate bar. It promises to have fruit and
nut inside, but you know from experience that it will have a maximum
of one raisin and maybe half an almond. What d'you expect for a chocolate bar that size for under a dollar?
action: You get the muffin
response: Taken.
action: You look at the memory
response: You remember Subra as a trim, athletic man, with dark curly hair. He contacted you after you'd called the medical council about the
threats you were receiving from the Grémillets.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a memory of the threats you were receiving
a memory of Lady Grémillet
a chocolate
a bottle of juice
a muffin
a carryall
a phone
a jacket
a book
action: You look at lady
response: Lady Grémillet was the inheritor to one of the biggest pharmaceutical parent companies in Perigosan. In person, she was an imposing woman: tall and statuesque.

But apart from her stature, it was her impossibly proud air that distinguished her from most "tai-tais". This most likely stemmed from the confidence that her husband and her had built up their business empire from scratch. You'd attended a few of their family dinners, and she did like to make a point to mention that she was a taxi driver's daughter. Such is social mobility in Perigosan.
action: You examine the threats
response: You recall the journey you took to get here... You'd run away
from the Grémillets the first chance you got, of course.

But after that, you kept seeing her green-skinned security officers lingering at all your usual places - the cafés you used to go, even your favourite libraries. They would dress up, wear hipster clothes, speak in incomprehensible slang, but you knew they were aggressive and tethered only by the command of their master. Mistress, rather.
action: You check what you're carrying
response: You are carrying:
a memory of the journey you took to get here
a memory of the threats you were receiving
a chocolate
a bottle of juice
a muffin
a carryall
a phone
a jacket
a book
action: You examine the journey
response: It was a long journey worthy of an adventure novel in itself, especially if it was a potboiler with the plucky heroine up against
the Big Bad Corporation... but you digress.

Lady Grémillet didn't take kindly to your reveal of her industry secrets (was it ever your business? Well, it was a matter of
public health).
action: You look at the secrets
response: It started when you discovered the notes left in your bedroom.
It was from whoever had served as the previous house doctor.

The previous house doctor had discovered something strange in the basements, and also noted the odd behaviour of some of the
security personnel. You'd only continued their work. In a cinematic twist of events,
action: You look
response: This is a room in an attic, one of hundreds of other rooftops and balconies. There's a skylight, nominally to let in natural light, but seeing as it's so caked up with pigeon doings and dirt, it's not much use. There's a bed, a desk and a chair.

You might leave the room to the south, when it's quieter. You can get to the washroom from the hallway.

The noise from the dining area downstairs slowly starts to intensify: it must be lunchtime.
action: You look at the secrets
response: It started when you discovered the notes left in your bedroom.
It was from whoever had served as the previous house doctor.

The previous house doctor had discovered something strange in the basements, and also noted the odd behaviour of some of the
security personnel. You'd only continued their work. In a cinematic twist of events,

You hear frying pans sizzling.
action: You look at basements
response: The Grémillet mansion was famous for having a facade made largely out of glass. What people didn't see was that there was glass just about everywhere in the house on Sentosa Cove. Of course, the house wasn't entirely made of glass - that would have been impractical - but almost every structure had veins of glass running through it, most often bottle-green glass, but also clear glass and frosted.

This extended to the basements, too, which held such essentials as the laundry room, the greenhouse and... and the illegal labs where GD Pharmaceuticals did more unorthodox research. It was almost out of a movie.

Now that you think about the glass, though: when you took the job, you were given lodgings in the house, with veins of yellow glass in
the walls. It was like something out of Downton Abbey, so you, too,
got to see the fantastical place, the seed of so many rumours.

You hear a sudden gurgle from the plumbing.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a memory of the place you used to stay
a memory of the rumours surrounding the mansion
a memory of the notes you found
a memory about industry secrets
a memory of the threats you were receiving
a chocolate
a bottle of juice
a muffin
a carryall
a phone
a jacket
a book

You hear people shouting downstairs.
action: You look at the place
response: Luxury. Sheer luxury. Private washroom, towels changed daily, with bubble bath and shampoo of your choice constantly kept in stock; bed soft as a good dream; something like acres of space. It was ridiculously big, much bigger than it needed to be, and after spending years living in rooms with other people, it was unspeakably good to have your own room.

Okay, fine, you sometimes had to contend with one of the staff appearing in your room silently, but on the whole it was great. Snacks whenever you wanted, too.

That's all gone, now. But it's a small comfort that there won't be any of that in the future. Not from the Grémillets, anyway.

You hear the clanking of dishes.
action: You examine the notes
response: These were bits written on slips of paper, the backs of envelopes (including one from the medical council), even, in one case, the back of a box of mince pies. All written in the same handwriting. Finding those had been like a strange little sidequest in a much larger game.

You threw them out when you escaped from the Grémillet mansion.

You hear a sudden gurgle from the plumbing.
action: You examine the rumors
response: Such a flamoyant figure as Lady Grémillet was bound to attract gossip. The Chinese New Year after you'd signed on with the Grémillets, nosy aunts, uncles and cousins all wanted to know: what was the Lord Grémillet like? Were the servants really half-frog? You could never answer their questions, but at least you won't have to face them this Chinese New Year.

You hear people shouting downstairs.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a memory of the place you used to stay
a memory of the rumours surrounding the mansion
a memory of the notes you found
a memory about industry secrets
a memory of the threats you were receiving
a chocolate
a bottle of juice
a muffin
a carryall
a phone
a jacket
a book

You hear the clanking of dishes.
action: You listen
response: You hear a sudden gurgle from the plumbing.

You hear people shouting downstairs.
action: You look around
response: This is a room in an attic, one of hundreds of other rooftops and balconies. There's a skylight, nominally to let in natural light, but seeing as it's so caked up with pigeon doings and dirt, it's not much use. There's a bed, a desk and a chair.

You might leave the room to the south, when it's quieter. You can get to the washroom from the hallway.

You hear a sudden gurgle from the plumbing.
action: Go south
response: Here, the sounds of the eatery below are louder. Be careful you don't get spotted by anyone. The stairs leading down have been barricaded with a metal gate, so best to respect the measures that Subra put up for your safety.

There's a cardboard box here, containing a bunch of reading materials. Your room is to the north, and the washroom is to the east.

You hear the clanking of dishes.
action: Examine box
response: A box once used to hold apples, now seconded as a box for books. The reading material in this box is varied, sourced as it is from what was found abandoned in the eatery.

In the cardboard box are an adventure novel and a Nature journal.

You hear frying pans sizzling.
action: You get all from the box
response: adventure novel: Taken.
Nature journal: Taken.

You hear the clanking of dishes.
action: Examine journal
response: It's an issue from 2013. The cover has been ripped off and some pages are missing, but most of it is still there.

You hear frying pans sizzling.
action: You examine novel
response: Drew. It's titled Sue Sharp and the Three Relics.

You hear people shouting downstairs.
action: You read novel
response: You scan through the adventure novel, and you pick out: "As Sue walked slowly along the path, wondering what the housekeeper might have
meant, there was a long high whistle from over the meadow. From the bordering swamp came a white, filmy figure! The ghost!"

You hear a sudden gurgle from the plumbing.
action: You read the journal
response: You scan through the Nature journal, and you pick out: "Two scientists have independently proposed an explanation for what causes the
rotation of the axis every twelve years..."

You hear people shouting downstairs.
action: You go east
response: The most important room in a house. This washroom is almost
exclusively for your own use, which is an amazing luxury, to be
honest. There are the usual amenities here: a toilet, a sink, some toilet paper. Also, some graffiti on the walls. The washroom doesn't have any proper windows, but by the sound of it, it overlooks the
road.

You can leave to the west.

You hear the clanking of dishes.
action: You look at graffiti
response: There's only a modest amount of graffiti in this place, written in permanent marker. "LOVE is the greatest force", one reads. Another
less high-minded one reads, "CHEESE".

You hear a sudden gurgle from the plumbing.
action: You examine toilet
response: It's a minor miracle there was even a working toilet here, so despite the cracked seat you really can't complain.

You hear the clanking of dishes.
action: You examine the sink
response: The taps here are mottled with rust. A thin dribble of water is all that comes out when you experimentally turn the tap on. Under the sink are some bottles of drain cleaner and bleach.

You hear people shouting downstairs.
action: You examine the drain cleaner
response: The bottle reads, "DISSOLVES RAGS, GREASE, PAPER AND OTHER MATERIALS FAST!". Sure, a standard promise, but terrifying all the same.

You hear a sudden gurgle from the plumbing.
action: You look at the bleach
response: No-brand bleach, which you identify as such by its smell.

You hear people shouting downstairs.
action: You drink the bleach
response: You stare at the opening of the container contemplatively, but your sense of self-preservation is strong enough to stop you from raising the bottle to your lips. You did your rotation in A&E, and you'd seen people who had actually drank bleach. It's a bad way to go.
action: You examine paper
response: A straggly roll of toilet paper.

You hear frying pans sizzling.
action: You get the bleach
response: No, don't do that! Anyway, whoever cleans the toilet will need it
here.

You hear the clanking of dishes.
action: You sit on the toilet
response: You get onto the toilet.
action: You look
response: Washroom (on the toilet)
The most important room in a house. This washroom is almost
exclusively for your own use, which is an amazing luxury, to be
honest. There are the usual amenities here: a toilet, a sink, some toilet paper. Also, some graffiti on the walls. The washroom doesn't have any proper windows, but by the sound of it, it overlooks the
road.

You can leave to the west.
action: Flush
response: What do you want to flush?
action: Flush toilet
response: A gushing torrent of water comes washing down the toilet bowl.

You hear a flock of birds flap past: the sun must be going down.
action: You go to the west
response: (first getting off the toilet)

Here, the sounds of the eatery below are louder. Be careful you don't get spotted by anyone. The stairs leading down have been barricaded with a metal gate, so best to respect the measures that Subra put up for your safety.

There's a cardboard box here, containing a bunch of reading materials. Your room is to the north, and the washroom is to the east.
action: You go north
response: This is a room in an attic, one of hundreds of other rooftops and balconies. There's a skylight, nominally to let in natural light, but seeing as it's so caked up with pigeon doings and dirt, it's not much use. There's a bed, a desk and a chair.

You might leave the room to the south, when it's quieter. You can get to the washroom from the hallway.

You suddenly hear the sounds of a violinist tuning their instrument, the tentative tinkle of a pianist. They're having house music tonight. It must be Tuesday.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a Nature journal
an adventure novel
a memory of the place you used to stay
a memory of the rumours surrounding the mansion
a memory of the notes you found
a memory about industry secrets
a memory of the threats you were receiving
a chocolate
a bottle of juice
a muffin
a carryall
a phone
a jacket
a book

More plates clank.
action: You eat the muffin
response: That's plainly inedible.

Music drifts from the dining rooms below.
action: You examine the chair
response: The chair is wobbly. The seat is an abominable combination of red, purple and yellow felt, like something you'd find on a bus.

More plates clank.
action: Drink juice
response: Mmm, healthy. You stow the bottle away in your carryall.

Frenzied shouting issues from the kitchen.
action: You eat chocolate
response: That was delicious!

You hear the flap of a pigeon suddenly taking off.
action: You examine the skylight
response: The light shining through the skylight is a brilliant orange.

Music drifts from the dining rooms below.
action: You open it
response: The skylight is rusted shut, or perhaps it's been painted over too
many times. No matter how you shove, you can't get it open.

Pigeons roosting on the roofs coo in their liquid burble.

A sudden cheer goes up from the dining area below you, and you hear
the beginnings of a toast: "Yaaa-aaaammmmmm... seng!"

That reminds you of a banquet you had with the medical council, just three months ago.
action: You check your inventory
response: You are carrying:
A memory of a banquet
a Nature journal
an adventure novel
a memory of the place you used to stay
a memory of the rumours surrounding the mansion
a memory of the notes you found
a memory about industry secrets
a memory of the threats you were receiving
a muffin
a carryall
an empty bottle
a phone
a jacket
a book

Frenzied shouting issues from the kitchen.
action: You examine the banquet
response: It was an annual dinner organised by the medical council in Perigosan for GPs, one of those "networking" things that you always abhorred. (But hey, the food was good. It more than made up for the karaoke section.)

At the time, you'd just gotten the post at the Grémillet household. People were intensely curious how this locally educated nobody got the job. Was it connections? (Impossible. Your father was a teacher; your mother, a programmer.) Was it money? (What money?) Was it... No, it wasn't. But even you had trouble explaining it to them.

Well, at least Peter didn't bother asking.

Pigeons roosting on the roofs coo in their liquid burble.
action: Drink muffin
response: There's nothing suitable to drink here.

Frenzied shouting issues from the kitchen.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
A memory of Peter
a Nature journal
an adventure novel
a memory of the place you used to stay
a memory of the rumours surrounding the mansion
a memory of the notes you found
a memory about industry secrets
a memory of the threats you were receiving
a muffin
a carryall
an empty bottle
a phone
action: You look at the pigeons
response: You hear the flap of a pigeon suddenly taking off.

You can't see any such thing.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
A memory of Peter
a Nature journal
an adventure novel
a memory of the place you used to stay
a memory of the rumours surrounding the mansion
a memory of the notes you found
a memory about industry secrets
a memory of the threats you were receiving
a muffin
a carryall
an empty bottle
a phone
a jacket
a book

Music drifts from the dining rooms below.
action: You get on bed
response: You get onto the bed.

You hear the flap of a pigeon suddenly taking off.
action: Sleep
response: You aren't feeling especially drowsy.

Frenzied shouting issues from the kitchen.
action: Sing
response: You can't afford to make so much noise, not now!

More plates clank.
action: About yourself
response: You're Cassiopeia Marsh, erstwhile house doctor of the fabulously wealthy Grémillet household, now jobless. Your licence hangs in the balance, as does your entire career.

You hear the flap of a pigeon suddenly taking off.
action: You jump
response: You jump on the spot.

Frenzied shouting issues from the kitchen.
action: You look
response: Attic Room (on the bed)
This is a room in an attic, one of hundreds of other rooftops and balconies. Reddish light filters through the skylight; long shadows cluster in the room. There's a bed, a desk and a chair.

You might leave the room to the south. You can get to the washroom
from the hallway.
action: You look at the chair
response: The chair is wobbly. The seat is an abominable combination of red, purple and yellow felt, like something you'd find on a bus.
action: You examine the skylight
response: The light shining through the skylight is a brilliant orange.
action: You wait
response: Time passes.
action: You look at the desk
response: This desk is an imposing secondhand thing. It predates your arrival, and, indeed, the construction of this building. If you were of that kind of mindset, you'd have thought it might have been haunted, it's that kind of furniture.

Underneath, a bar fridge hums away merrily.
action: You examine the fridge
response: A tiny thing which whirs constantly. It'll keep your sandwiches and drinks cold, at least.
action: You look at the bed
response: A marginally comfortable thing, with a cast-iron frame. It holds your weight, but creaks alarmingly when you turn in your sleep.

On the bed is a blanket.
action: You take the blanket
response: Taken.
action: You check what you're carrying
response: You are carrying:
a blanket
A memory of Peter
a Nature journal
an adventure novel
a memory of the place you used to stay
a memory of the rumours surrounding the mansion
a memory of the notes you found
a memory about industry secrets
a memory of the threats you were receiving
a muffin
a carryall
an empty bottle
a phone
a jacket
a book
action: You read the novel
response: You scan through the adventure novel, and you pick out: ""Oh, but Sue! How did you figure that out?" "It was simple. Once I'd looked at the clock in the dining room, I knew that it must have been a dummy!""
action: You look at the jacket
response: A brown leather jacket with zip details. It makes you look much cooler than you are.
action: You examine the zip
response: A silver thing criss-crossing the jacket. It doesn't lead to any pockets, it just... is. It looks cool, okay.
action: You read the journal
response: You scan through the Nature journal, and you pick out: "The interested reader may refer to the New Encyclopaedia of Thaumaturgical Diseases (2nd ed.) for further detail..."
action: You go to the south
response: (first getting off the bed)

The sounds of the eatery at dinnertime are louder here, and there is a risk from now that someone might stumble up here after having had a
few too many. Be careful you don't get spotted by anyone. The stairs leading down have been barricaded with a metal gate. Best to respect the measures that Subra put up for your safety.

There's a cardboard box here, containing a bunch of reading materials. Your room is to the north, and the washroom is to the east.
action: You examine the gate
response: What separates you from the general public, theoretically, is a locked door, a flight of stairs and this expanding metal gate. Where the gate meets the stairs, it is chained with a lot of chains. A bit overkill, but there you have it. No one will come and bother you. You overheard the owners of this property saying that they'd tell everyone that it was storage.
action: You go to the north
response: This is a room in an attic, one of hundreds of other rooftops and balconies. Reddish light filters through the skylight; long shadows cluster in the room. There's a bed, a desk and a chair.

You might leave the room to the south. You can get to the washroom
from the hallway.
action: You get on the bed
response: You get onto the bed.
action: You wait
response: Time passes.
action: You read the journal
response: You scan through the Nature journal, and you pick out: "Two scientists have independently proposed an explanation for what causes the
rotation of the axis every twelve years..."
action: Go south
response: (first getting off the bed)

The sounds of the eatery at dinnertime are louder here, and there is a risk from now that someone might stumble up here after having had a
few too many. Be careful you don't get spotted by anyone. The stairs leading down have been barricaded with a metal gate. Best to respect the measures that Subra put up for your safety.

There's a cardboard box here, containing a bunch of reading materials. Your room is to the north, and the washroom is to the east.

Downstairs, someone has started up music with a pounding bass beat. People cheer.
action: You look at the box
response: A box once used to hold apples, now seconded as a box for books. The reading material in this box is varied, sourced as it is from what was found abandoned in the eatery.
action: Wear box
response: (first taking the cardboard box)
You can't wear that!

There's no point making yourself overly miserable. Better for you to lay down, now, and try to go to sleep. Or at least rest.
action: You smell yourself
response: The room smells slightly musty, even though you spent the whole of yesterday airing out the room. Still, it's better than nothing.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a memory of Subramaniam
a carryall
a phone
a jacket
a book
action: You open the fridge then get all from the fridge then smell the muffin
response: You open the bar fridge, revealing a bottle of juice, a chocolate and
a muffin.

bottle of juice: Taken.
chocolate: Taken.
muffin: Taken.

The room smells slightly musty, even though you spent the whole of yesterday airing out the room. Still, it's better than nothing.
action: You go south
response: Here, the sounds of the eatery below are louder. Be careful you don't get spotted by anyone. The stairs leading down have been barricaded with a metal gate, so best to respect the measures that Subra put up for your safety.

There's a cardboard box here, containing a bunch of reading materials. Your room is to the north, and the washroom is to the east.
action: Smell the muffin
response: It smells of sharp cheese.
action: You look at the box
response: A box once used to hold apples, now seconded as a box for books. The reading material in this box is varied, sourced as it is from what was found abandoned in the eatery.

In the cardboard box are a Nature journal and a textbook.
action: You look at what you're carrying with you
response: You are carrying:
a muffin
a chocolate
a bottle of juice
a memory of Subramaniam
a carryall
a phone
a jacket
a book
action: Smell phone
response: The phone smells of ketchup and fried chicken. This is an unusual
thing for a phone to smell like, but it's probably because you were eating
The noise from the dining area downstairs slowly starts to intensify: it must be lunchtime.
action: Smell the chocolate
response: The bar of chocolate doesn't smell of much; it's too cold.

You hear a sudden gurgle from the plumbing.
action: You look
response: Here, the sounds of the eatery below are louder. Be careful you don't get spotted by anyone. The stairs leading down have been barricaded with a metal gate, so best to respect the measures that Subra put up for your safety.

There's a cardboard box here, containing a bunch of reading materials. Your room is to the north, and the washroom is to the east.

You hear the clanking of dishes.
action: You look at the box
response: A box once used to hold apples, now seconded as a box for books. The reading material in this box is varied, sourced as it is from what was found abandoned in the eatery.

In the cardboard box are a Nature journal and a textbook.

You hear a sudden gurgle from the plumbing.
action: Examine textbook
response: It's an A level chemistry textbook with the front cover torn off. The text is heavily underlined and highlighted: whoever had owned this had been studious.

You hear people shouting downstairs.
action: You look at journal
response: It's an issue from 2013. The cover has been ripped off and some pages are missing, but most of it is still there.

You hear the clanking of dishes.