Part 4: The House, in Dust

Chapter 2: The House, in Dust
- The Top Floor

I made my way up the creaking steps, feeling my palms grow sweatier with each step. Blackwood Manor... I was beginning to have mixed feelings about the place. Something felt fundamentally out of place, but I could not put my finger on it. I knew that I had to continue to explore the place, to uncover its secrets.



At the top of the stairs, I was met with three doors. It was dark up here, and I strained to see the area in detail.


The door seemed to be stuck...

Unable to walk into the first door, I turned to the other two.







Hanging from the brick was a metallic rod, which I picked up.


It was just a pile of old bricks.


It was a small metal rod I found in the upstairs bathroom.



The stained glass windows flooded the room with a sense of sanctity I had not felt anywhere else in the house... it felt ironic that I should feel safest in such a decrepit room like this.

Turning around, I walked through the other door leading out of the bathroom, into another room.






I didn't even want to imagine the piles of rubbish that were inside those boxes.


A neat little stove was standing on a plank.

There was little else in this room. Turning once again, I stepped out of another door leading out it, into the corridor in the upper floor. This was the other door I had seen, upon arriving up here.





A ladder led upstairs to the attic, but I decided to finish exploring this area first.




Just a pile of old bricks.



A stairway spiralled up to a dead-end. This was obviously the tower that dominated the top of the manor.



I opened a window to stifle the musty, stale odours in the upper floor.


There was a large crack in one of the walls of the tower.


A couple of old and rusty lamps adorned the top of the tower.



Reaching the end of the stairs, I turned around and made my way to the attic. I was delayed once again, however, as I spotted another door I hadn't noticed earlier.




The door was locked, but I could see a key on the other side through the keyhole.



I tried to force the key out using the small metal rod, but I had nothing to catch it with on the other side. The envelope and the page I had with me were both far too small, and the rag was too bulky to fit through the crack under the door... through which streamed a lot of light. I was suspicious, but gave up, as I had no other options for the time being. I headed up to the attic.







The stalest air in the house ambushed me as soon as I stepped through the door.





A music box stood amongst the other things.





After setting it up and turning the dial, I was dismayed to see the mechanism work, but not the actual music itself.


The pile of newspapers was huge... I needed a more specific date to search.

A pile of newspapers dotted one end of the attic, alongside an ornate chest.





The lamp in the chest seemed to be in working condition. I pocketed it.















I put the photographs down, closed the chest, and stood up. Turning, I looked at the remainder of the attic.


I strained my eyes to detect if there was anything useful amongst that junk... but instead I got the impression of a sinister presence lurking in the shadows.



Shaken, I turned and left the attic, and quickly made my way downstairs to my room. It seems as though Blackwood Manor has an unpleasant surprise for me around every corner!










I was eager to start some work, but the idea of exploring the place was too tempting.

And so there I was, back to where I had started. Exploring Blackwood Manor had taken me through a whole medley of emotions... I did not, and still do not know what to make of the place. There is a certain air of terror that surrounds the place... it feels, almost, as if the manor does not want me here. This oppressive feeling has become a true burden on my shoulders, but I must persist. I feel as though there is something to be discovered... and with that will come the successful ending to my book that I seek.

* * *

Welp, there we are. Once again, sorry for such a bulky update, but this should not happen again. Hopefully the exploration of the manor was in-depth enough! Michael will be calling Jerry in the next update; but what else should we do besides that?