A man inherits a remote mansion... you've heard this one before, haven't you? IC

[whoiam]

The day before, you'd all been in London. Stuck in a disreputable servants' registry, waiting for some middle-class tradeswoman to take you to a life of poorly paid near-slavery and dodging (or illicitly encouraging) your mistress' husband's secret affections.

Then Doctor Martyn came to the registry offering... well, the secret affections thing would probably work out the same either way, but the rest of it? This was a member of the aristocracy, offering grand-mansion wages, for what sounded like an easy job in the countryside as part of a large crew of servants.

Apart from the somewhat... worrying... expression on the Doctor's face as he glanced around the ranks of desperate young women, it had sounded perfect.

One by one you were called in to a private meeting with the good Doctor. You were made to model your uniforms, then go through your skills and references. Then whether you wanted the money, the countryside, the big house, the aristocratic name on your next reference, or you took the job for some other reason all your own... you'd accepted the offer when it was forthcoming.

The instructions had told you to bring your things and meet the Doctor at his city practice that evening. And true to his word, he was there, with a pair of large carriages standing outside. Each of you was directed to one of the carriages as you arrived, until finally the Doctor himself took a seat in the lead carriage, and the two began moving off. You had a long overnight journey ahead of you, to your new post in the country...


This is an introductory period before the first day. There's no tasks to accomplish, just a period of time your characters can spend getting to know each other. Say hello, make some allies, make some enemies, get an early start on seducing yourself a fresh sidekick... they're all good :smallsmile:

And if you're wondering how the characters were split between the two carriages, the Doctor took the two Maids who'd made the best impression on him at interview (i.e. the two with the highest affection score) with him, and left the rest of you in the second carriage.


Carriage 1
Doctor Martyn had directed Finley and Vrilux to the lead carriage, before entering it himself. It was a well-appointed carriage, with two heavily cushioned benches inside. One at the front, one at the back, facing each other. It even came with some carpet, and curtains that could be drawn over the windows to allow the occupants some privacy.

The 'good' Doctor took his place on the rear bench as he boarded, stretching out along it and giving a rather theatrical yawn. "Might as well settle in, ladies. We've got a long journey ahead of us."

Carriage 2
While of equal size to the first carriage, the inside of the second was rather more spartan. Also rather more full of luggage. That said, it too had a couple of benches in it - rough wooden things across the front and back of the carriage space. There were four of you stuck in this one - Marie, Katherine, Briar and Paige - all relegated into the luggage coach because you didn't interview quite well enough.

Still, there was space for you and your things, and there was only one trip to come in these conditions... right...?

[Mando Knight]

Katherine

The princess quietly tried to puzzle through the events of the day and their outcome. Katherine had been touring England with family, and when she ducked away for a moment to explore London a bit on her own, suddenly she was somehow mistaken for a working-class girl, hired out to some minor noble, and put in this luggage coach with the odd bunch that were supposed to be hired on.

And yet, she kept her wits about her. After all, this was just a mistake, and she should be able to telegraph the embassy once they arrived, so her family could come and fetch her, right?

[Ionbound]

Finley nods to the good doctor and stretches out herself, catlike, ears wiggling as she relaxes for the trip and says, "Of course, sir. Is there anything you need me to do while we're in the carriage?"

[DoctorFaust]

Taking a long, hard look at the carriage that she's having to share with three other girls, Marie is barely able to stifle a sigh before climbing in after her luggage. I suppose it could be worse. There could be rats. Murderous rats. Rats that I could train to kill all of these other trollops in their sleep so they can't get their hands on my beloved...

[Necroticplague]

Vrilux nervously strokes the wooden beads on her neck while she takes a place in the corner of the carriage, her seating accompanied by a chorus of noises both metallic and wooden in nature. She then glances around, unsure of how exactly to react these posh (by her own standards) conditions. And not to mention her employer sitting right there. Nothing like worrying about keeping up a good impression to keep the pressure on.

[whoiam]

Finley's question is good for a chuckle. "Well, you could try dusting if you like, but I don't see much of a need for it, do you? So unless you've got something under that dress to help pass the time between here and the mansion, you might as well make yourselves comfortable..."

He himself took the opportunity to kick off his shoes and lie down along the padded bench he had to himself. After all, this was to be an overnight journey...

...just a shame he hadn't thought to pack the pillows in this carriage. Still, the bench had cushions. They'd do.

"...I mean, those chains cannot make for a comfortable outfit. Why do you wear them, anyway?" The good doctor's attention seemed to have wondered between maids there.

[Necroticplague]

"...I mean, those chains cannot make for a comfortable outfit. Why do you wear them, anyway?[/COLOR]" The good doctor's attention seemed to have wondered between maids there.

"They cause me less discomfort than you'd think. And they serve as a useful way to hold some objects. Just hook something onto a loop,and there! And it's hard to set go of something that sa- that brings back such fond memories of childhood besides~"

[Ionbound]

At Dr. Martyn's comment, Finley's face turns bright red, her ears flatten to her head, and her tail stands on end as she bites back the urge to hiss, taking a deep breath as her features return to normal. After a deep breath, she regains her composure, and says admonishingly, "Dr. Martyn!"

[Madmal]

So far, things looked up. Quite the heavy travel yes, and the registry man had been a tad too into the roughhousing, but it was still better than the ol' house. Paige took on a bigger share of the available space, splayed feet over a sturdy traveling luggage, crossing her arms behind her head. She let out a satisfied sigh as she pushed the slightly moth-eaten bowler hat she had borrowed from one of her siblngs over her eyes. True, the master had gone off on the fancier cart, but that just meant she didn't had to act all stuffy-and-such from the get go.

[Q'telun]

Briar half dozes in his corner of the carriage. The interview seemed to go more smoothly for the two girls who wound up with Master Martyn. Or was it Doctor? He turns more towards the wall, and rests his head on his traveling pack. It doesn't matter anyway, he'd found a good man to serve, just like Mother said he would.

[whoiam]

"What? Is it really that wrong of me to ask if either of you were sneaking down a deck of cards?"

Dr Martyn was, it seemed, rather shameless.

Still he didnt try pushing things any further, instead quieting down to try and get some sleep on the way down to the mansion.


Day 1: Morning


The carriages had trundled on throughout the night, only finally pulling to a rest an hour after sunrise. Dr Martyn was quickly out of the carriage, and surveying the front of his new domain.

It was a wreck.

The mansion itself looked pretty sturdy. They were facing a pathway that ran right through the middle of the mansion, and they could see overgrown and untended gardens at the far end. But the rooms on either side of the pathway were.... well, the rooms would probably be great when they were cleaned out. They were glass fronted and massive. Probably ball rooms or something originally.

There was little sign of that now, though. The room on the left was just... empty. Little but dust and cobwebs. The room on the right seemed to have been used as a rubbish dump. Broken furniture, household waste... probably a few premium fox dens if you looked hard enough.

The Doctor withdrew a large ring of keys from his coat pocket, and unlocked the two front rooms. Then turned back to address his six maids.

"Well, you might as well start here. Clear out a space in one of these rooms and unload the carts into it. Then start getting the rooms cleared out. I don't mind too much where the junk goes, so long as it's hidden from the mansion." And with those instructions, he headed further inside, leaving his maids to organise themselves. Maybe he's going to explore. Maybe he's just going to hide so he won't have to get his clothes dirty helping out. Either way, the ladies are now on their own...

[Ionbound]

Finley stands at attention,military-like, as Martyn gives the maids commands, then as he disappears, she takes charge, saying, "Well? Let's get to it. These carriages aren't going to unpack themselves," as she herself leads by example, opening the first one and carrying as much luggage as she can carry into the manor.

[Mando Knight]

Katherine stepped out of the carriage, sore and tired from the worst ride of her life. Then she was horror-struck at the sight of the mansion, and realized that her childish antics may have just dropped her into a living nightmare. There would be no telegraph in a practical ruin like this, and the carriage drivers would think that she's simply a neophyte maid with cold feet.

Resigned to her fate (for now), Katherine didn't even bother to contest the presumptuous cat-eared maid from the front carriage as she helped unload the baggage.

[Q'telun]

Briar curtsies when the Doctor leaves, then starts to unpack the cleaning supplies from the carriage.

"I think we'll have an easier time of it if we clean first, then unpack, Miss... uh..."

[Necroticplague]

Vrilux joins in on the maid realizing that a room needs to be cleared out to put all of the luggage in, and set to it, believing it probably requires less physical effort (which, shame to say, she isn't particularly capable of). "One of the rooms looks a bit less trashed already, so we can move anything from it into the other one. Which we can take care of later." She then tries to clear some of the dust and cobwebs from the left room to make suitable place to set the luggage.

[Ionbound]

Finley takes a deep breath, biting back her natural shy impulses, but nods and says, "Miss Milesworth. And the reason why I want to move everything inside first is due to the fact that the longer the luggage remains in the carriages, the more likely someone gets sticky fingers."

[Mando Knight]

Katherine stopped as the others began to discuss the order of operations. "But ve are ze only people here. If schtealing vill be a problem, it vill not matter vesser ze bags are inside or out."

On top of that, she wasn't really sure there was anything worth stealing in those bags. Perhaps the doctor's medicines, but he would notice if those were missing, wouldn't he?

[DoctorFaust]

"Nobs like him've always got something worth knickin'" comes a muffled reply from inside the carriage as Marie works to disentangle her bags from where she shoved them under a seat. "And I figure it'll be best to get everything inside before we do any organizin' or cataloguin' or any of that muck."

[Q'telun]

"That's a good point." Briar looks at the piles of luggage, then back to the mansion. He walks back over to the carriage and starts unloading. "We should at least keep the luggage in a room where it won't get dust on it though."

[whoiam]

Finley concentrates on unloading the carts, and it's quickly evident to the other Maids that she simply doesn't need their help. Katherine, however, hangs around as she does so, checking the things Finley unloads...

While Katherine had been busy watching the luggage, the other maids had started on the dusty room. Briar (using his skill), Marie and Paige (using brute force) and Vrilux (somewhat ineffectually) had begun the cleaning with only their bare hands. It wasn't going too well for poor Vrilux, who eventually banged her hand against one of the giant windows in frustration... only to find that the series of windows were actually a series of full height French windows. Most of them were locked, but Vrilux had found one where the rusty bolts had failed to lock in place... and working her way along the exterior walls, she finds another two just like that.

The shorter route to the outside world helped everyone's cleaning efforts. And the situation improved even further when Katherine returned from the carts bearing the things she'd been looking for - yes, brooms! And a dustpan and brush. With open doors and some actual tools to play with, the Maids finally started making decent progress. Even with Finley joining them once the carts had been fully emptied (and their contents stacked in the first corner the maids had cleared) though, it wasn't enough to have the room finished by the time the Doctor returned to the ground floor.

"Well, you've been busy. Good work! But looking at the time, we may have to skip the other old ball room today. Got to go back into town for supplies this evening. Well, assuming we all like eating, anyway. So, I've found a few other places that will need some attention. The old kitchens, for one, and the master bedroom for another. So we're going to split up like this: One of you will be going into town with me. We've got some orders to collect. Food, cooking utensils, boring stuff like that. But also some bedrolls you can use until we've gotten replacement furniture in. I'll show another one of you the way to the master bedroom on the top floor - I want you to clean the place up for my use tonight while I'm out. I've also found the old kitchens down in the basement, and I'll get two of you started working on those. And two of you can finish up here. So, who wants to go where?"


You achieved one of the master's assigned tasks for the period, and made decent progress on a second. You may each roll 1d6 for gained favour from the master (but as he was not watching your individual contributions, each Maid gets the average of the group's rolls, not their individual roll).

Period 2's starting on Saturday, so you have a couple of days to decide between you which maids are going to each of the four posts. Remember: 1 going into town, 1 working on the master bedroom, 2 in the kitchens and 2 in the ballrooms. Doctor Martyn will pick for himself if you're still undecided by Saturday... and the argument isn't entertaining enough that he feels like watching.

[Ionbound]

Finley draws herself up and says, "I'll take the master bedroom, sir. It seems only right to me."

[Q'telun]

Briar's hand shoots up. "I'd like to go into town with you, sir!"

[Madmal]

Paige moves closer, clapping her hands to get the dust out. "While checking the town seems proper nice, ah think I'll keep on the cleaning, sir"

[Mando Knight]

While plotting how to convince the Doctor to take her to town, Katherine was pre-empted by Briar. Not willing to give up the opportunity to some lower-class riff-raff, she spoke up to contest the position.

"Herr Doktor, I voult like to accompany you, please. Shopping is somezing of my schpecialty, and I am familiar viss ze current trends, if you vant to make zis place look really high-class."

[Q'telun]

Briar puffs out his cheeks and pouts. "I said it first, so I should get to go. Right?"

[DoctorFaust]

"Of course, Master," Marie says in clipped received pronunciation. 'I will begin work on the kitchens as soon as possible."

[roll0]

[Necroticplague]

Briar puffs out his cheeks and pouts. "I said it first, so I should get to go. Right?"

"That's not how things work. It's a matter of making sure everyone gets where its mot ideal for them to be. Like in this case, since my talents would align me best with the haggling, I should go. While others may be similarly skilled in that area, their talents elsewhere are best around this place."

[whoiam]

Rounding up, you all gain 3 favor. Enjoy!


The doctor mulls things over for a moment, then gestures at Vrilux. "Good point, Vrilux. You go wait in the carriage." But the next point he makes is to extend an olive branch to Katherine. "It's good to have someone around who can pick such things, but we're not after anything fancy tonight. Need to get more of the mansion cleared before we start bringing in the good stuff. Still, I'll keep you in mind when I actually am looking for good furnishings..."


Katherine takes 6 points of stress from being beaten by Vrilux.
Briar takes 8 points of stress from the same source.


"Alright, my company in town has been picked. Still need one person for my room, and two for the kitchens. Who's going where?"

[DoctorFaust]

"Master, I apologize if I went unheard during the...disagreement," Marie says with a bow, "But I had previously volunteered to assist with the kitchens."

[Q'telun]

Briar's pout deepens, but he doesn't complain. Not yet. "I'll work in the kitchens too."

[Mando Knight]

Katherine glares at Vrilux and is about to give her a piece of her mind, but bites her tongue and regains her composure when Dr. Martyn shows some sense. "Hmph. Fine, take her, zen." She replies, in a see-if-I-care tone.

[Ionbound]

Finley nods and says, "And I believe I volunteered to take care of your room, sir."

[whoiam]

"No, I had heard you both. But there were still a few maids unplaced at the time. Katherine, I think, is the only one still to state a preference? Well... still to state a preference I haven't given to someone else, anyway."

[Mando Knight]

Katherine replies in a somewhat dispassionate tone. "I don't see how my preference matters anymore. I vill continue to clean up here."

[whoiam]

"As you Vish."

Some jokes were so bad you just had to make them...

"Briar, Finley and Marie, follow me, please."

The doctor lead the three maids up the wide central passageway. There were a couple of side passages they passed on the way, and doors into other, unexplored rooms between them. Then they were on to an ornate spiral staircase that formed the center of the mansion. He pointed up.

"Finley, the Master Bedrooms are on the top floor. When you get to the top there's one on the right and one on the left, the architect apparently having been of the opinion that just because a couple may be the man and woman of the house, that clearly doesn't mean they'd actually want to sleep together. Such scandalous ideas can only lead to an imbalance of the humors, after all! Mine's on the right. You can get started on the other if you've got time, but I'm not too fussed about that one yet. I haven't even married anyone, let alone grown distant enough to banish them to a secondary bedroom..."

Instructions given, he takes the two remaining maids and heads for the inner set of side passages. He turns to the right, and leads them a quarter of the way around what looks to be a square path, before it brings them up to a smaller side staircase. This one goes down rather than up, and at the bottom there is several dark rooms... and one old kitchen, in a fairly poor state, illuminated by a single oil lamp that, presumably, the Doctor had brought down during his exploration earlier.

"Glorious, isn't it?" He asks, gesturing around. "There's a few more oil lamps in the luggage we brought down from London if you need them. Either way, see what you can salvage. I'll be back this evening with some food. Good luck!"

[Ionbound]

Finley nods as she says, "Yes sir. I'll get right to it." As the Master and the other two maids leave, she begins cleaning, working diligently to make sure the Master Bedroom is clean for the evening.

Athletics to clean: [roll0]*4=4 Apparently, she saw a mouse and got distracted...