He Is the Arm, and He Sounds Like This
The painting is very dark, but as you stare at it you gradually begin to be able to make out the details as your eyes adjust. It's a woodland scene, featuring a forest clearing at night. Twelve spindly, leafless sycamore saplings surround a small white-outlined pool of water. Or... is it water? That smoky, oily smell is stronger now.
Something about that acrid, unpleasant smell seems familiar. You puzzle over it for a moment as you idly snap your fingers to the ever-present music.
Of course -- the Oil Peak! You pull out that jar of oil you collected and unscrew the lid. The smell is like a punch in the face -- the same smell, like an engine on fire. You look at the painting again, then down at the table below it. A round silver tray rests atop it, and you're pretty sure what the ridiculous dream-logic of this place intends for you to do.
You carefully pour the oil into the tray, creating an unpleasant black mirror. Your reflection in it is dark -- perhaps even sinister? But before you can consider it further, the image fades, replaced with a reflection of bright red curtains. You look up, and find that the red curtains now cover the walls of the hallway. There is a part in them to your left, a smoky clarinet solo spilling out into the hall.
You push through the curtains into what must be one of the hotel ballrooms. The floor is tiled in black and white zig-zags, and scarlet drapes cover the walls. A number of people in black tuxedos and white evening gowns are milling about amongst white Greek statues and black leather armchairs. There is also, for some reason, a white horse standing motionless under a bright spotlight in the corner of the room.
| Mingle |
You attempt to mingle, but the guests take no notice of you. The sole exceptions are a man in a tuxedo and a fat man in a bear costume, who stop... whatever it is they're doing... to stare at you.
You quickly turn and head for the other side of the room, and take a seat between an an attractive young blonde in a black dress, and a dwarf dressed all in red. They nod pleasantly at you, smiling.
"What's going on here?" you ask them. "What's the celebration?"
",ask my cousiN" replies the dwarf, nodding toward the girl. His voice is strange -- oddly twisted somehow, though perfectly understandable. "?doesn't she look just like laurA palmeR"
"I don't know who that is," you say. "At least I..." You pause, then turn to the girl. "Are you Laura Palmer?"
",I feel like I know her, but sometimes my arms bend bacK" she replies, with a pained expression.
",she's filled with secretS" the dwarf adds, and rolls his eyes.
"Yes, I can imagine. Okay, well, I was going to ask you about the bartender, but I think I'll save myself some sanity and just go." You stand and start looking for the part in the curtains as the dwarf begins an odd shuffling dance.
At last you find the exit, and as you pass through the curtains you aren't very surprised to find yourself back in the hedge maze. You are a bit surprised to find yourself holding something.
It's a framed 8x10" black and white photograph -- a group shot of the guests at a black-tie party, all lined up in rows, waving and smiling at the camera. In front of the crowd, grinning widely, hand raised invitingly as though the host of the affair... is you. The caption beneath reads July 4th Ball 1921.
You throw the photograph away as hard as you can.
- Occurs at Lost in the Great Overlook Lodge as part of There's Always Music In the Air with a jar of oil in your inventory.
References
- Like the rest of the area, the text for this adventure is a combination of references to Twin Peaks and The Shining.
