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The hands are what you recognize first. The thin hands of a piano player, long in the finger but dexterous through long practice. Familiar scars from a whittling accident when you were children. You clutch your bosom and your lungs struggle for air as you slowly gaze up that familiar frame. His handsome face, framed by silk black hair, is frozen in a look of horror, his pale blue eyes distant and haunted. His jaw is taught but appears dislocated, as though the rope that broke his neck is pushing it out of place.

The noose around his neck draws your eye. It is silvery, almost to the point of being milky white. The knot is like a hangman's knot, only somehow more so. Your eyes are drawn to the seemingly infinite loop that it forms around your brother's throat, like the umbilical cord of some fallen angel drawing the breath from him. The thing pulses, as though it were responding to your thoughts. You follow the length of the rope up, and it seems to lead all the way up into the heavens.

A heavy footstep pulls you out of your reverie, and you turn back to the stairwell. A hulking figure rises up from the stairs, and with each step it takes your body seems to reverberate with fear. The great man shaped thing wears a black mask over its head, and a dirty smock just barely covers its hulking form in some grotesque approximation of modesty. Massive hands hold something that catches your eye, something that leads you to clutch your throat in terror; in the giant's hands is another noose, like the one your brother hangs from.

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The chamber has betrayed you, for as you turn frantic to escape from The Hangman you find that the room is far too small to allow you to move far away from the lumbering brute. You cannot take your eyes from the figure as it draws nearer, now fully entering the room and dwarfing you. You cannot even work up the wind for a scream to escape your lips. The Hangman pauses and turns, slow as Atlas carrying the world. You feel its dread gaze fall upon you as a strangled scream finally escapes your lips...

...and you awaken. You throw off the covers, struggling with the bedsheets wound around you as you gasp for air. You are alive. You are awake. Your name is Samuel Carter, and one year ago your brother Peter went off to Miskatonic University. The first and last time you had this dream was several months ago, the night before you got the phone call informing your family that Peter had hung himself in his dorm room using knotted up bedsheets the day before his final exam.

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Today is the day you are going to the airport to fly over to Massachusetts, then you're off to Arkham and Miskatonic University. Your family are alumni from Miskatonic, so the tragedy did not dissuade your parents from allowing you to go. After a quick shower you get dressed and grab your already packed bags. As you leave your room and head down the stairs you see your mother, Helen Carter, glance up from the couch as though in surprise. You avert your eyes as her face goes through the familiar cycle of disappointment followed by emptiness. She will stay on the couch for the rest of the day, maybe finishing up a few bottles of wine she hasn't found yet.

You make your way out the front door to find your father, William Carter, inspecting his vehicle. He turns to you with a cheery smile.

"Ready to go son?"

Nothing seems to damper the man's spirits.

"Sure thing dad."

You toss your bags in the back and climb in. The ride to the airport is largely uneventful, with your dad reminiscing about stories from his old college days that you've already heard a thousand times. It would seem that even after Peter's death some things never change. As you leave the car he turns to you, face suddenly deathly serious, and says one thing.

"Wherever you find yourself son, just remember who you are. Understand? Just remember who you are no matter what happens."

His demeanor shifts back to its usual pleasantness as he helps you with your bags and waves you off happily.

"Smooth sailing old boy!"

Weird, all of it. That's your family though. Your happy, sad, dysfunctional, ever shrinking family.

As you get your ticket and approach the gate you see a group of young men who look like college students sitting together having a discussion. You also spot a confused looking girl trying to figure out what gate she should go to.

>Help the girl
>Sit with the guys and talk
>Sit by yourself and put your headphones in

>>27143752
YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESEYESYESYESYESYESYESEYESYESYESYESYESYESYES

Thank you OP. Reading now.

>>27143852
>Help the girl

>>27143852
>Sit by yourself and put your headphones in

Fuck yes, I've been looking forward to this.

>>27143852
> Help the girl.

>>27143852
>Sit by yourself and put your headphones in
I like OP.

>>27143852

Go help the girl.

'Where're you headed?'

>>27143852
>Sit by yourself and put your headphones in
Lovecraft protagonists are always loner introverts.

>>27143752
>Help the girl


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeH5-UBfBic

>>27143852
Sit by yourself and put your headphones in

>>27143852
>Sit by yourself and put your headphones in

>>27143852

>Headphones in, we don't care

HOLY WALL O TEXT, BATMAN!

>>27143852
>help the girl

>>27143852

Help girl.

>>27143852
>Sit by yourself and put your headphones in

> Help the girl

>In Lovecraft's stories, the university's student body is implied to be all-male, much like northeastern universities of Lovecraft's time. The only female student mentioned is Asenath Waite,

>>27143852
Headphones in.

>>27143852
Help the girl.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8QTDnqWAEk

You walk over to a seat at your gate and face so that you can watch the boarding signs as you pop your headphones in. Sweet relief from all these people so caught up in their own nonsense. You jam out, which is to say you sit quietly and keep completely to yourself, up until it's time for your flight to leave. You pull your carry on luggage up to the front and are the first one on the plane.

You are joined by the college guys, who continue to chat with themselves jovially, and as the last call for boarding comes the girl you saw outside makes her way in looking frazzled and out of breath. You find it somewhat funny.

*********************************************************************

The airport outside of Arkham is interesting, and it is here that your paths diverge. The group of male students head off to a nearby town where there is another, smaller college that has less of a reputation in more ways than one. The young woman is picked up by a guy who was waiting for her. Perhaps a brother, perhaps a boyfriend, it seems he is a local here in Arkham.

You sit waiting for the bus that is supposed to carry students to campus from the airport. The shuttle is supposed to run in a few minutes. You continue to jam out while pondering the big part of this semester's courses. What were they again?

>Music, literature, sociology
>Math, biology, physics
>Psychology, literature, drama

>>27144229
>Math, biology, physics

>>27143852
>Sit by yourself and put your headphones in

>>27144229
>>Math, biology, physics

>>27143852
Sit by yourself and put your headphones in

>>27144229

>>Music, literature, sociology

>>27144229
>Psychology, literature, drama

>>27144229

music, lit, soc.

>>27144229
>>Psychology, literature, drama

>>27144229

>Music, literature, sociology

>>27144229
Math, biology, physics

>>27144229
>Psychology, literature, drama.

>>27144229
Psychology, literature, drama
It might help out in a Lovecraftian setting.

>>27144229
>>Psychology, literature, drama,

>>27144229
>Math, biology, physics
We'll be like Herbert.

>>27144229
>Math, biology, physics

>>27144229
> Math, biology, physics

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>>27144229
Let us take up Psychology, Literature and Drama in order to explore the metaphysical realms of sociology, human behavior and artistic interpretation and introversion.

Then we could very well head into biology for the most coveted path of neurology, we could even become a profiler with the gained knowledge from our previous subjects.

>>27144229
>Math, biology, physics
Because it appeals to me most.

>>27143752
Squidward?

>>27144229

>Psychology, literature, drama

>>27144229
Mathematics because there's nothing like a rational man face-to-face with something inexplicable.

>>27144229
>Math, biology, physics
OP, that wall of text was absolutely delicious. Thank you.

>>27144229
>Psychology, Literature, Drama

>>27144229
Math, Bio Phys

>>27144229
>Math, biology, physics

>>27144229
>>Math, biology, physics

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You are taking mathematics (Practical Application of Theoretical numbers), biology (Post-Modern Neurology), and physics (The Architecture of Space and Time). The course names are exciting, but you've had a pretty good education thus far and you're pretty sure you can handle it.

Of course these are your Tuesday and Thursday courses, your tri-weekly courses number only two, and both were pretty much mandatory for you. There is an obligatory course called "Doorways and Passages" that is specifically for legacy students entering as freshmen, some fluffy thing that won't be too hard that you'll get some flexible credit or other for.

The other course is one that is of special importance to you, the one that you specially requested after taking a look at Peter's schedule. "Introduction to Paradoxical Thinking" is in the philosophy section of courses, and it seems that your brother was Professor Alhazred's favorite student being groomed as a future protege. If you want to find out what happened to him that class is an excellent place to start.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPQge4ib4WI

The shuttle pulls up, and you note with disdain that it is five minutes late. It would seem that you were caught up in thought longer than you had expected to be.

On your way toward campus coming into Arkham, by what you suppose must be the scenic route, the bus stops by the local cemetery and a cheerful fellow hops on. Dark hair, grey eyes, and boisterous, he greets the elderly bus driver with a grin.

"Nice weather we're having, eh Travis?"

Without waiting for a response that clearly isn't coming, he hops down the aisle and plops down in the seat across from you.

>Ignore him, you're already wearing headphones
>Engage in meaningless conversation

>>27144655
>>Engage in meaningless conversation

>>27144655
Ignore him
I hate small talk

>>27144655
>Ignore him, you're already wearing headphones

>>27144655
>Ignore him, you're already wearing headphones

>>27144655
>>Ignore him, you're already wearing headphones

>>27144655
>Engage in meaningless conversation

>>27144655
>Ignore him, you're already wearing headphones

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You studiously ignore the jovial gentleman before you and concentrate on the music pumping out of your headphones. Delightful. Out of the corner of your eye you catch him watching you, ready to pounce on the possibility of communication. A few minutes later you catch him sulking, looking rather moody as he scrawls something in a notebook. It would seem he took quite a few etchings recently and is comparing them.

Eventually you make it to Arkham proper. The city is quiet, with cobbled streets and old architecture. Even some of the newer looking buildings feel as though they've merely grown out of older parts of the city, like some blemish on the face of an ancient hag. The shuttle driver turns through a maze of roads, and eventually you are brought closer and closer to campus.

As the sun sets you find yourself arriving at the campus gates. You and the fellow on the bus get out, and he heads about his merry way. It is eight o clock, and at the stroke of eight a sound gives you pause, and you freeze as it rolls over you.

The great bell in the clocktower is ringing. It chimes out a haunting melody, followed by eight chimes that echo across the campus. After the eighth chime rings all the way through every bone in your body you realize you've been standing still by the now empty street. You pick up your bags and make your way toward your dormitory. Whateley Hall, as you recall.

******************************************************

The strange fellow, is, of course, your roommate. He gestures at you enthusiastically, looking rather excited again, no longer quite so melancholy.

"Hello there roomie, my name's Jack, how goes it? Eh? Eh?"

He shakes your hand like it's a rat and he's some sort of terrier.

"Uh, Samuel. Nice to meet you... Jack."

"Well it sure is great to meet you. Say, you're a freshman right?"

"Yes, yes I am."

"Ah. Well a little later, maybe after dinner, I'd be happy to show you around the campus."

>Accept
>Decline

>>27145061
>Decline
We must focus on our studies.

>>27145061
> Accept.
When we have time, sure.

>>27145061
>Accept
Might as well skip the 'getting lost' part of moving into university.

>>27145061
>Accept

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"Sure thing. I just have to get unpacked and everything..."

Without another word he helps you with your bags, hauling them up the stairs for you one-handedly as though they weighed nothing. With his other hand he pulls at the railing and hauls himself up, moving more quickly than you might have guessed was possible.

While he is doing that you finish filling out your arrival paperwork as the nice elderly lady behind the counter of the front desk beams at you. You eventually are handed a crooked brass key that opens the door to your room and another that opens up the mailbox registered to your room.

>Head up to your room to catch up with Jack
>Other, if anything

>>27145313

>Check our mail now

>>27145313
>Head up to your room to catch up with Jack

>>27145405
Second.

>>27145405
Do this.

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You proceed to take the smaller key and open up the decrepit mailbox. Inside is only a single white envelope. It has but one word on it in black lettering.

Jack

You ponder its contents, but the letter is sealed and its surface reveals nothing.

>Hide the letter
>Open it now
>Give it to Jack

>>27145529
Give it to Jack. It's his mail, after all.

>>27145529
>Give it to Jack
No reason to be a dick.

>>27145529
>Give it to Jack
It's for him.

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You close up the ancient box and tromp up the stairs to bring Jack his letter. The hallway you find yourself in is old but in good repair. It could use a new coat of paint, but you've seen worse. You make your way to your room, 314, and open it up with the crooked brass key. Your things are stacked neatly on the bed by the door. Jack is currently sliding around his desk and arranging his chair just so. He looks more melancholy now than anything.

"Hey Jack."

He looks up slowly.

"Yes?"

"Letter came for you."

You hold out the envelope with his name on it. He takes it from your hand gently and looks at it for a long moment. Then he slides it under the slip cover of his mattress and continues on as though the letter never existed. He begins speaking again after a few minutes.

"So you can eat in the dining hall down in West, or you can walk into town and grab a bite at one of the local places. I already ate, so I'll be dropping some stuff off across campus. When you're through with dinner you can give me a ring."

The two of you exchange numbers, and as you do he looks at his screen twice as though he's seen a ghost.

"I'm not sure I got that right, please repeat."

You repeat your phone number for him. His expression darkens visibly, though he hides it with a forced smile.

"Oh. Lovely. Well, I'm off, I'll catch you after dinner."

He proceeds to head out of the room, stopping to pull the door shut behind them quietly. You begin the process of unpacking and contemplate dinner.

>Go into town for dinner
>Go to West for dinner
>Do something else

>>27145717
It's our dead brother's number, isn't it? Ask Jack about it.

>>27145717
>Go to West for dinner
Let's grab a cup of coffee as well. Maybe a pen and a notebook just in case. Students need paper.

>>27145717
>Go into town for dinner

>>27145731
Seconding.

>>27145731
Jack just left. It was our phone number. Where did you get the idea it's our brothers?

>>27145731

Jack is unfortunately nowhere to be found, as he left already. Unless you'd like to try calling or texting him about it.

>>27145717
>Go to West for dinner
Let's get comfortable here.

>>27145731
>>27145877
We can do it later, maybe after dinner or something.

>>27145814
Because he
A) recognized it
B) was visibly upset

>>27145920
Could have seen it on our brother's phone, which still has fairly terrifying implications.

>>27145920
But we already know it's not our brothers. It's our phone.

Why he recognized our number is a mystery, but it's not because it's our brother's.

>>27145953
This makes a bit more sense. Regardless, let's not start detectiving. One step at a time.

>>27145717
>Go to West for dinner

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>The time is 8:45 PM

You walk over to West dining area, following posted signs. The campus seems largely empty, though you glimpse a few people in the distance occasionally. You eventually arrive at West dining hall.

>The time is 9:05 PM

The scent of spices from the old world assails your nostrils as you enter West. You smell saffron, garlic, onions, and a few others you can name but many others you can't quite put your finger on. A few of them are almost half familiar, as though from a dream. The dining hall is a spacious place, and tonight they are serving lobster bisque, a variety of salads, stir fried rice or pasta, a mix of veggies, and filet of some sort. Apparently you were here too late to get in on some of it. You pick through what you like and don't like, and spend some time experimenting. The lobster bisque is pretty good, the veggies aren't bad, and the stir fry is just stir fry. The salads are a bit too seasoned though. You see very few other students, all male so far. Nobody looks at you twice.

>The time is 9:50 PM

You are quite full, and it seems the dining hall is closing soon.

>Call Jack to meet up
>Kill some time doing...?

>>27146121
>Call Jack to meet up
or
>Kill some time solving puzzles or doing schoolwork.

>>27146121

>Kill some time doing schoolwork.

>>27146178
>>27146195

What schoolwork?

>>27146178
>>27146195
We've been here for less than a day, do we have any?

>>27146121
>Call Jack to meet up

>>27146121
Probably too late to meet Professor Alhazred.
>>27146195
Second.
>>27146200
We obviously always carry a small book of difficult math problems wherever we go.

Grabbing a quick shower. Might cook dinner in a few, so if we slow down a bit it will be because I want to get food out of the way before we get WEIRD.

>>27146121

Give Jack a ring because the other proposal is aspie level anti-fun.

>>27146178
That sounds cool. Call him and kill time while waiting for him.

>>27144655
>You are taking mathematics (Practical Application of Theoretical numbers), biology (Post-Modern Neurology), and physics (The Architecture of Space and Time).
You clever, clever bastard.

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You decide to call Jack and ask him where to meet up at from West so that you can get a tour around campus. He picks up on the fourth ring and suggests that the two of you meet up back at Whateley in a few minutes. You acquiesce and he hangs up. In the background you heard the sound of a lot of running water for some reason.

>The time is 9:53 PM

You walk back to Whateley Hall, and a few minutes after you arrive Jack shows up, looking just as jovial as when he got on the bus earlier.

"Right, so let me show you around campus. I figured we would start here since it would give you the chance to see what campus is like starting where you're going to wake up in the morning next week."

"Haha, right..."

"I'll walk you around the other dormitories first, then we can head to the academic buildings and a few other nifty spots, eh?"

"That sounds reasonable."

"Alright."

>The time is 10:20 PM

If you have anything to ask Jack about, now would be the appropriate time.

>Just listen while he talks
>Ask him about himself
>Ask him about anything weird that may have gone on last year
>(Free Choice)

>>27146884
>Ask him about Professor Alhazred.

>>27146884
Ask him about our number, why he reacted like that.

>>27146884
>(Free Choice)

any cool shops?

>>27146904
Seconding this. We do want info about our late brother's whereabouts.

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You decide that now is as good a time as any to ask about Professor Alhazred as you make your way by the first dorm.

"Well, he's an interesting guy. Arab fellow, well travelled. He teaches a few history courses and a few philosophy classes, very avant-garde stuff. First class period in intro to paradox to you discuss the meaning of a tautology and whether or not it's valid to proceed by utilizing it as a tool to dissect that which is nigh impenetrable to reason and move from there. Very interesting stuff. Man seems to have a few screws loose though, but friendly enough usually."

You arrive at the first dorm. It is a stately looking building, with a very greco-mediterranean appearance to its architecture.

"Here we have Marsh Hall. A lot of upperclassmen live here, though they're usually only Juniors and Seniors. There are also a few post grads who stay there, but they mostly keep to themselves."

He gestures at the guilded building a ways down.

"Jermyn Hall. A lot of legacy students move in there. Not a bad place to be, though if you ask me some of the guys who live there are neanderthals. I suppose family ties can't buy you everything. No offense, if you're a legacy, by the way. You seem like a smart guy."

"Um, right."

"Anyhow those three plus Whateley are the dorms on this side of campus currently open, plus West though that has fewer occupants in it. Also there's the girls dorm on the other side of campus, down by the river."

"Girl's dorm? I thought this was an all male school."

"Normally it is, but the children of faculty are allowed to attend. Usually there are maybe a dozen female students at a time, and they stay at a little place that's sort of like a sorority house. It's called Crouch Inn, but most people call it Crotch Itch, because well, you know? Eh? Eh? Eh?"

He begins vigorously jabbing your ribs with his elbow, grinning ear to ear.

>The time is 11:04

"Now for the academic halls."

>Ask him something else
>Let him proceed

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Also, if you don't mind... roll 1d100 please.

Rolled 51

>>27147365
Ask about fraternities.

Rolled 22

>>27147365
Okay.

Rolled 75

>>27147365
This can't be good.

>>27147345
>Ask about himself.

Rolled 8

>>27147345
"You're not legacy I take it? And what's being legacy got to do with anything?"

Adjustable for our particular linguistic idiosyncrasies.

>>27147499
I'll second this one.

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"Uh, so you, um, are not in fact a legacy student?"

"I am not, no. I am here on academic scholarship. Drama, business, and philosophy, triple major."

"Oh, um, okay. So you're not a part of a fraternity or anything?"

"Those exist, but I'm not really a member myself. I've been invited, but the rush process just seemed so tedious. More of a drama society guy than anything."

"Huh."

The two of you arrive on campus where he points out a number of buildings. The liberal arts building looks something like an old school Greek playhouse, while the architecture and mathematics building actually hurts to look at for some reason... but boy does it fascinate you. The life sciences building is a walled of little complex that appears to have a hedge maze built into it.

"It's all fun and games in that labyrinth."

Jack winks at you. The two of you arrive at the giant building with the clock tower you saw in the beginning. It glows in the moonlight as the clock approaches midnight.

"This is our library. Lots of... interesting things inside. It's open twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, and you can book study rooms or simply just grab a nice, quiet little alcove if you need it."

"Neat."

>The time is 11:49 PM

"That's just about everything you can really see during the day. I'm probably going to head into the library to do some light reading, if that's all."

>Ask him something else.
>Go into the library
>Go back to your dorm

>>27147725
>Ask him something else.
Ask him if he knew our brother.

>>27147725
>>Go into the library

might as well check out the library. Familiarize ourselves with the layout for future use

>>27147775
>>27147805
Seconding both of these. Follow him into the library and ask him if he knew our brother on the way.

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"One more thing."

"Oh, what is that?"

"Did you know Peter Carter?"

He looks off into the night for a moment before turning back to you.

"Yes I did. He was my roommate last year in Whateley. I take it you are a family member?"

"How did you know?"

"Your phone number is only one digit off from his."

"Oh."

"Yep."

He speaks much more slowly now, and a weight seems to descend upon his shoulders.

"If you want to talk about it I'm happy to, but not tonight. Another time when we can sit down and just... just think."

"Oh, okay."

"Well, I've got to be going."

He heads into the library.

>The time is 11:52 PM, 8 minutes to Midnight

What will you do now?

>Enter the library
>Begin the walk back toward Whateley Hall
>Other

>>27147917
>Enter the library
Must be some interesting tomes there.

>>27147917
>>Enter the library

>>27147917
>Enter the library

>>27147917
Enter the library.
>8 minutes to midnight

>>27147917
HAHA motherfuckers it was our phone number he recognized, just like I said!

>>27147917
>enter the library

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You pause for a moment, pondering what was just said, before entering the library.

The smell of paper, leather, and something sour you can't quite place that sits at the tip of your tongue and lurks permeates the air. At the front desk is a wizened old man sits ignoring a desktop with icons that seem to demand his attention every few seconds in favor of reading a very old looking book. He sort of nods, then studiously ignores you as you pass him along the hallway.

The floor is hardwood, and creaks every so often, but it is covered with a thin layer of carpet. As you reach the end of the hall it opens up to a larger room that contains a massive ivory stairwell with carvings etched into it that are indecipherable to you. Row after row of books on shelves are stacked up along the floor, and as far as you can. A marble bust of what appears to be a man with something unintelligible in a dead language craved into it stares down at you.

You are drawn to a sound though, a pitterpatter you hear up from the second floor. Like something patting soft paws against a hard surface. You hear it again, and decide to climb the staircase, hoping to catch a glimpse of what is making that noise by going quietly...

>1d100 please

Rolled 28

>>27148627

Rolled 82

>>27148627
Phnglui

You manage to creep your way up the stairs mostly quietly, minus a squeak or two, and you find that the noise is coming from an alcove way in the back and getting louder. You can also hear now the ticking of clocks.

>3 minutes till Midnight

What would you like to do?

>Investigate
>Go on about your business

>>27148749
>Go on about your business
The dream we had is eerily similar to this, and we know how it ended.

>>27148749
>Investigate

>>27148749
>Go on about your business

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You decide that this is far too odd of a situation to be walking into on your very first night here, and you opt to ignore whatever it is making that noise and go on about your business.

>Explore first floor
>Explore second floor
>Go upstairs
>Leave now

>>27148982
>Go upstairs

Upward!

>>27148982
>Explore second floor
What do you mean by >Go upstairs. Where do the stairs lead?

>>27149068

Further up. There are more than two floors.

>>27148982
>Explore first floor

>>27148982
>Go upstairs

>>27148982
Ehh, these choices aren't very interesting, because they're not meaningful. I mean, there's no any indication why choosing the first floor would be better or worse than the second floor and so on. Please don't treat a quest like a walkthrough exercise.

>>27148982
>Go upstairs
Nice prose.

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You decide to keep on going upstairs. Why not enjoy the view out some upper level window while you browse? You take a deep breath as you turn around and move away from the ticking and pawing sounds, glad to have your mounting tension at being in this strange place slowly ease itself. The sour scent you can't quite place has become less and less noticeable, as though it formed a thick miasma on the bottom floor for some reason.

You turn and walk down the row of books on your way to the stairwell, glancing at each one as you pass. Unsurprisingly you have heard of very few of them. You recognize a play for the drama class this year, The King in Yellow, and you ponder picking it up but decide not just yet. You make it to the staircase, pulling out your phone to check the time.

The first note from the very top of the tower rings throughout the library like some sort of summons. The chiming sounds almost like a voice of ecstasy sung in metal. Answering the chime comes the bell, singing out and reverberating through your entire body. Outside of the library it has a particularly piercing sound, but inside of the library you can feel your body humming. You keep count as the bell tolls.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

Ten.

Eleven.

Twelve.

You barely notice when your phone suddenly sputters and dies, and the watch on your wrist stops ticking. For that matter so do the various clocks in the place behind you, all at once. The reason that you barely notice this as you look down toward the first floor from your position by the stairs on the second is, well...

The great man shaped thing wears a black mask over its head, and a dirty smock just barely covers its hulking form in some grotesque approximation of modesty. Massive hands hold something that catches your eye, something that leads you to clutch your throat in terror; in the giant's hands is another noose, like the one from your dreams. The one that killed your brother.

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The Hangman looks up as time stops, and you feel its dread gaze fall upon you.

>Climb, climb, climb, to the top!
>Run back into the books and hope it can't find you
>Climb, but get off before the top and hide

>>27149527
>Climb, but get off before the top and hide

>>27149527
>Punch him in the face

>>27149527
>Climb, but get off before the top and hide
Oh dear.

>>27149527
>Climb, but get off before the top and hide

>>27149527
ohshitohshitohshitohshit

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Your mind is moving sluggishly. It tells you that what you are seeing is impossible. It tells you that what you saw was only a dream, and that it clearly must be the stress of coming off to the college where you brother killed himself that is leading you to see what you are seeing. Your mind further informs you that to even react to this would be utter madness.

Much more quickly your feet have already carried you to the staircase as you go bounding up at top speed, moving as quickly as you can. Your breathing quickly becomes heavy as your lungs struggle to push oxygen down to your aching legs, but you don't care!

You take each step two at a time, hardly pausing even when you stumble. As you do stumble though you can feel it: heavy steps on the staircase a floor or two below you. You bound upwards with all your strength, trying to outpace the massive frame as you dash away along the creaking wooden steps railed with ivory.

At the last moment along one of those twists you turn and sprint across the floor, cutting behind a row of bookcases and trying to quiet your footfalls and still your heavy breathing as you seek to evade pursuit.

1d100

Rolled 80

>>27149810

Rolled 13

>>27149810

roll

Rolled 75

>>27149810
oh no

Rolled 22

>>27149810

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The Hangman reaches your floor and you hear a creak as it stops, waiting. You hear its feet on the floor, and your hand reaches up to your throat even as your lungs struggle to pull breath into your body. Trying to hold back from gasping for air is like drowning, like a knot has been drawn around your throat. You struggle as your heart flutters, and you fight drawing in that noisy breath that would betray you to your end.

There is a creak on the floor, as though The Hangman has taken a tentative step forward. Your legs have turned to jelly, and you do not think that you can flee any further... when there is a creak up above your position, coming from somewhere are upstairs. In a flash The Hangman is moving, charging up the stairs at its relentless pace, taking them two and three at a time as they groan but do not give under the ponderous weight of the abomination ascending them.

Slowly drawing in painful mouthful of air after painful mouthful of air, you peer out and see that the staircase is now empty as the sounds of the charging behemoth grow fainter.

>Try and escape from the library
>Look for a better hiding spot
>Stay where you are now

Rolled 34

>>27149999
>>Try and escape from the library

We've got a path to escape now. Might as well take it.

>>27149999
>Try and escape from the library
Get out, please.

>>27149999
>Try and escape from the library
scared.jpg

Rolled 25

>>27149999
You gotta go after him man, the mystery is afoot!

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You decide to try and escape the library.

1d100

Rolled 32

>>27150263

Rolled 4

>>27150263
ruunnn!!!

Rolled 9

>>27150263

Rolled 86

>>27150263
So scared.

Rolled 39

>>27150286
>>27150294
>>27150297

We're so boned.

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Your charge down the stairs and quiet as you can you descend, one step at a time. Listening carefully you keep your breathing shallow and try to keep an ear out for the sound of pursuit. You are so intent on keeping an ear out for pursuit that as you reach the second floor your foot slips, and you go sliding down the stairs and crash to the ground, slamming your leg into the wooden staircase even as you round the last turn to the first floor.

Somewhere, far up above you, you hear the sound of heavy footsteps moving too far with each great stomp to be human. Cursing you stagger to your feet and continue down the stairs, running awkwardly as the adrenaline keeps your ankle from screaming too loudly. As you dash across the first floor toward the door you almost tip over an hourglass filled with sand that is just beginning to empty.

Run, your mind tells your body now, as you cross the desk where the librarian once was but is now absent from. The computer screen is dull and black, its power switched off just like your phone. You make it to the door and manage to slam it open as the cold night air embraces you.

Where will you run?

>Toward the river
>Back to Whateley
>The maze at the biology building

Rolled 81

>>27150582
>The maze at the biology building

Jk, that's an awful idea.

>Back to Whateley

>>27150582
>Back to Whateley

Rolled 9

>>27150582
The maze, the QM is expecting us to run back to the dorm, we need to outsmart him!

>>27150582
To the maze, that's the only place where we can lose him. Buildings are too linear.

>>27150668

The math building isn't...

>>27150682
*rimshot noise*

>>27150682
>The liberal arts building looks something like an old school Greek playhouse, while the architecture and mathematics building actually hurt to look at for some reason
Non-Euclidean.

Rolled 7

>>27150642
In that case, we probably should head back and fight this thing head-on. The QM REALLY isn't expecting us to do that.

>>27150582
>Back to Whateley

Rolled 55

>>27150756
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!

>>27150756
Let's just run to the hedge instead. What's the worst that could happen?

Rolled 92

>>27150831
We end up like our brother?

If this is some sort of phsychological horror entity, we're better off with other people, not lost alone in a maze.

>>27150582
>>Back to Whateley

>>27150862
Mazes are made for getting lost, it's a good way to throw the hangman off our trail.

>>27150582
>The maze at the biology building

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You ponder turning off to dash into the hedge maze at the biology building, but decide against it and instead run toward Whateley Hall. On the open grounds you push yourself as hard as you can go, stretching your legs out to their full length and pumping your arms. Only a slight hitch in your stride from the fall slows you down, but you overcome it admirably as you course your way back to your corner of campus. As you reach the outside of Whateley Hall you look around and see you are not being chased.

You have no idea what time it is, as your watch has stopped and your phone doesn't work. The ankle you banged on the staircase throbs in agony and you grit your teeth every time you are forced to put weight on it. It isn't broken, but it's going to leave a nasty knot for a few days.

You could go inside and head up to your room, but you have no idea what's going on or if you'd be safe there. On the other hand you might find someone else inside who can help. Alternately you can head into town from here just to put some distance between you and... whatever that thing is.

>Go inside
>Head to town
>Other

Rolled 13

>>27150983
>>Go inside
Go inside and find someone. See if their phone works.

>>27150983
>>Head to town

put distance AND people between us

>>27150983
I'm suspicious of Jack. We go into the library just as he does and then are chased by some monster? I don't think we should enter our dorm.

Can we go to one of the other buildings? The math or biology section.

>>27151073
Yeah, this seems awfully convenient coincidence. Let's head out to town instead.

>>27150983
>Head to town

>>27151073

You'd have to go back in the direction you came from.

Rolled 89

>>27151142
Actually yeah, changing my vote from going inside to going to town.

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You opt to head into town. You fast walk your way toward the gates of the University, and as you cross the grounds you stumble upon a most unusual scene...

*************************************************

That's all for thread one. We've been at this for about seven hours now so it seems a fitting time to stop.

>>27151271
Great thread OP. Do you have a twitter? I'd like to bookmark it so I know when this runs.

>>27151313

I think I'll just run it tomorrow, maybe sometime in the evening. Say 6PM Central Time. I have no twitter though.

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>>27151335
Sounds good.

Archive?

>>27151467
Archived.
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html

>National suicide awareness day
>Suicide themed monster

I see what you did there.