Ashgate #2 - Unknown Awakening.

Pounding. Pounding. Pounding.

All you can hear inside your head is the sound of drums.

Your previous life flashes before your eye - your family, your wife.

Your child.

As you try desperately to grasp onto the remnants of your humanity, the dregs of your forgotten deeds and sins resurface, and grasp your very being. This is who you are now. There is no turning back.

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You awaken suddenly - covered in a thin layer of sweat. You sit up, and from the corner of your eye you see Umbra at your side - licking at your forehead. In the second it takes to register what she is doing, your head throbs and aches, and you raise a hand to your forehead. Something doesn't feel right. You got up from your makeshift bed on the couch, and made your way across the room - to where you left the cracked mirror last night. As you lift the mirror to your face, you notice immediately the horns starting to protrude from out of your skull. You sigh as Umbra slides up behind you and wraps her arms around your shoulders.

"We're not supposed to eat each other, you know." you reminded Umbra. You looked at her face in the mirror - she was clearly upset.

"It doesn't even taste good! It just... looked like you were in pain."

You reach back and ruffle her hair. You can't be mad at her for trying to help.

"Does.... does this mean you're not human any more?" she reluctantly asked, hiding behind your shoulder. You put down the mirror, and paused. "Is such a thing even possible?"

You grunt in reply. You read as much in the Janitor's Diaries. It definitely was possible. Your curiosity grows stronger. You need to know more. You try to remember anything you can about your life as a human, but all you can recall is the concept of family, and what it was to you. You shrug off Umbra and point her towards on the screens on the walls. She reluctantly left you alone, and turned on the monitor. The sound of your favourite musical started to play.

Well, at least you remember that.

The only thing you can think of to do right now is you sit inside of your study and try to find something that will point you in the right direction. As you close the door behind you, you see Umbra flopping into the bed in the corner of your eye.

Even though you know this is your study, it seems very unfamiliar.

What will you do now?

 

(@S H I N T O - @Prada - @Globear - @Errant Singularity - @zeria-kawaii - @Crispickle - @YoRHa No.9 Type S - I have not slept yet. I will be doing so pretty soonish. Probably. I posted this up so you can can give it a good read through, and give yourselves a refresher from the first part if you needed to. You may post actions now - make sure you only do one actions per person right now, and use the discussion thread if you really need to.)

 

I check the drawers for any of my notes.

 

I touch my horns out of curiosity

 

You take a seat at your desk, and start opening drawers.

There was a lot of work related stuff in here. Each different file contained information on specific targets and Unknowns. From what you had read in the Langford Diaries, The Caretaker - you - was responsible for hunting down Unknowns and capturing them alive. There were four of them here.

• #7 - The Witch
• #46 - The Tantarian
• #74 - The Creeping Darkness
• #153 - Belphagor

You exhaled sharply through your nose. This was too perfect to be a coincidence. You touched your horns absent-mindedly - they seemed to be steadily growing - and wondered for a moment if you didn't have something to do with The Incident Umbra had mentioned to you.

What will you do now? Will you read the files, or look in another location?

 

I read the files hoping to find something of interest

 

I read number files 7 and 74. Maybe I'd get lucky with the numbers.

 

You're especially curious about The Creeping Darkness for some reason. You flip open the file only to be greeted with a picture of a human face. Your interest is piqued. As you read on, you discover that the events you had read in the Langford's diary are one in the same. The Creeping Darkness most definitely used to be human. You wondered if it would be worth asking it anything when you left. You slid the file back into the drawer you got it from.

The next file that peaked your interest was The Witch. You felt a pit forming in your stomach already. You flipped open the folder slowly, and were greeted with another photo. It was a child - 8 years old, according to the bio - with jet black hair and pale skin. As you progressed down the page - you noticed that a lot of the information was redacted. The Witch was "taken into custody" 15 years ago. You doubled checked the date on the display across from you to make sure. You skimmed through the documents, eager to find something that wasn't blacked out. You find something near the bottom - comments written about the Unknown some time after the initial capture date.

The Witch was one of the earliest captures in Ashgate history - and one of the most problematic. Whatever ritual or process that had turned this girl - and others - into horrific monstrosities is unknown. To this day, The Caretaker has not shared what had transpired on that day - or why the girls curse did not work on him. Her containment process was the most bloody and catastrophic Ashgate has seen - and we are well over one hundred captures at this time. Every person who looks at her face is dismembered and shredded to pieces - seemingly against her will. We lost over a dozen skilled employees.

It is to be noted that The Witch has an unusually strong affinity with The Caretaker. We at Ashgate are extremely worried about the implications of a human and an Unknown being together in any way, shape, or form. From the date of these notes - every measure has been put into place to keep The Caretaker and The Witch separate.

You closed the file and sighed through your nose. The more you read, the more questions seemed to crop up. This.... this was talking about Umbra, right?

What will you do now?

 

I decide to drop a paper on the desk, if it fell to the left I'd read Belphagors file, right, Tantarian's.

 

I go to ask Umbra about the file wanting to confirm it's details

 

You wonder if it's a good idea to ask Umbra about her file. You're reluctant - after all, you haven't revealed to her that you are The Caretaker. You decide it would probably be best to confront her after you have more information. You turn your attention back to the two remaining files in your lap. You take Umbra's photo, and drop it onto the desk. It fell towards the left.

You skimmed over Belphagor's file. You were familiar with some of it - as it was in mentioned in the diary - but unlike The Witch or The Creeping Darkness, it had detailed information on the skills and powers Belphagor had. The power of suggestion was something that the scientists had tested out extensively - more surprising was how trusted Belphagor was in regards to not using those powers to harm the humans. They had tested various different scenarios, and even figured out the limitations in his power. You're taken aback by the sheer detail of the report. The other power - Dominion of Sloth - seemed to have been tested as well, but the work was incomplete.

What will you do next?

 

I search the drawers again looking for any other useful items

 

You skim the surface of your desk before taking another look through the drawers. There's a few papers lying around - notices and announcements from the Administration mostly - as well as a desk lamp and a framed picture. You take a closer look - you can see a younger version of yourself standing in-between a frail looking women and a teenage girl. You pick up the picture and throw it against the wall. Without hesitating, you grab the photo of Human Umbra, and slide it into your inside pocket.

You take a good look through the drawers again, but you can't seem to find any more files on other Unknowns. You knew there had to be more information somewhere. You just had to find it.
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Inventory: Photo of Human Umbra

(Don't worry about your old inventory items! You can grab them later on.)

 

hmm

inspect the room to see if anything worth attention pops up

 

Leave the study and watch TV to recall anymore channels I might have liked