BROODHOLLOW: A Game of Oubliette

HELLO HELLO HELLO!

The encyclopedia salesman, Wadsworth Zane, wakes up in bed in his hotel room with a gasp, but then sighs in relief. Thank goodness, he said to himself, it was all a crazy dream. Or at least, it didn't feel like it. He hops out of bed and puts on his clothes before his first day in 'Broodhollow' starts; shirt, pants, and shoes.

As he walks down the staircase, the desk clerk greeted. "Hello hello hello! Morning, Mr. Zane! Sleep well thgtinsal? It's our nicest room. Just happened to be available."

"Uh, what was that?" Wadsworth shook his head in confusion. "Nevermind. I'm off to start my day." He then left.

He walks through the town of a thousand holidays—or so it seems like it—as hopefully he'll meet Iris Bellweather at Loucks & Harth. His voice sounds a little broken, he wondered. Here he is at last, and a late-teen girl is sweeping the floor with her broom.

Zane clears his throat. "Iris? Hi!"

It seems like her as she turns to the salesman. "Oh good morning, Wadsworth! Some night, huh?"

"Yeah, sure. A wonderful night." Wadsworth shrugged with a blush.

"I'm glad we went inside when we did." 'Iris' wondered, "The bwcaertreseyep for sure but they dispersed after rhanuo. Were you all right?"

Wadsworth drops one of his eyebrows at the girl's distorted voice. "Wha... I dunno. If it were a dream, I wouldn't feel any real pain or touch." He turned to the door he came from and then back to 'Iris', but she just vanished in his blind spot. "Aw heck, really?" This is so confusing! The door to Horace's office opens. "Maddy? Is that you?"

It was not the ghost lady that he first met at the hotel, it was the cartoon skeleton wearing a beret, and he's holding a flashlight. "Bonjour, monsieur Zane. It's just me."

"Cadavre?" Zane gasped, "What're you...? How're you...? Is this...? What is going on?"

"Come with me if you want to know, oui?" Cadavre nodded. Zane follows the skeleton into the office, and there is only a desk with a bookcase right next to it, a globe, and filing cabinets with a cabinet radio in the corner beside the door.

Wadsworth is curious about this room. "Gosh, what a nice room! Ha ha!" He commented.

"Oui. Indeed." Cadavre continued, "But there is something more important that you need to know."

The radio turns on by itself, starting with static. And then, a familiar voice.

"Wake up, Wadsworth. Please. This is a dream. No more things to learn. Wake up."

The broadcast turns back to static, with Wadsworth's eyes widening. "Who's that fellow and why does he sound like me? Is this STILL a dream?"

"Non! Concentrate, monsieur Zane! It's not a dream, this is a real place; it's called the Stillwood Realm, a world where the impossible is possible." Cadavre explained.

"Just like a dream." Wadsworth added. Whoever that man who sounded like him is, he should just find him. Can he? "What about the man who sounded like me?"

"That's you, monsieur Zane." Cadavre revealed, "The you who has gone bonkers."

This doesn't make any sense to Wadsworth at all, like was it a recording of himself broadcasting from a gramophone, and that he forgot? Or could it be someone pretending to be him? Is this a prank? He doesn't feel or act like a madman.

"Okay? So how do I get to him? If he is someone pretending to be me, I'll just give them a piece of my mind." Zane growled.

Cadavre facepalms in annoyance and frustration. "Look! You wanna get to him? Très bien! I'll lead the way." He pulls the vent cover off the wall and sets it aside. "Viens avec moi."

"Um, sure." Wadsworth nodded, then he follows the skeleton through the boxy tunnel.

The vent tunnel leads directly to a pub, as they drop down onto a table and tumble onto the floor.

"That was not what I expected." Cadavre groaned while rubbing his pelvis. "Are you okay, mon pauvre Wadsworth?"

Wadsworth didn't say anything while glancing at the interior in awe, he remembers being here when he was chugging down Switchwater with the Bottlefly Boys. The Ignoble Experiment Pub! This seems like a positive memory for him. "I remember; I had a huge drink with the Bottlefly Boys here before, but then I got drunk. Ha ha."

Cadavre cocked his eyebrow. "A drink? That big boy seems to be having a drink, non?" He points to a shadow figure at the bar counter.

Wadsworth is not sure who it is but he recognizes the shape clearly. It transforms into the one he knew before: Maurice. "Hello hello hello, Maurice! I'm right here!"

The mustachioed large man turns to the salesman, and he notices him. "Wadsworth? Is that you?"

"It's me alright. Remember we had a huge glass of Switchwater?" Wadsworth grinned.

"Haw haw haw! Yes, I do remember." Maurice nodded. The bartender gives him a glass of Switchwater. "Oooh, Switchwater! Thanks!"

Wadsworth would like to have a drink too but he's not sure how Maurice got here. Cadavre steps aside with a paranoid expression. They watch the Bottlefly Boy drink the Switchwater in a style of ale-to-the-chief. A sudden loud hissing noise erupts with a similar liquid showering down on everyone. Wadsworth sniffs on the stain on his shirt sleeve and licks the liquid from his finger. "Huh! A Switchwater shower? Gosh. That's bizarre."

"Haw haw! What a miracle!" Maurice cheered with his arms out, "This is the BEST night of our lives!" And suddenly, he turns to the beret-wearing cartoon skeleton. "Wait, is that the cartoon skeleton from the comics?"

"I think he knows it's you." Wadsworth whispered.

Cadavre exhales with his hat held onto his chest. "Oui. Bonjour bonjour bonjour, Maurice. It is a nice drink, non?"

The beer taps start vibrating, more and more crazier until they break off the bar counter with more Switchwater gushing out as Maurice jumps away from it. "Uh-oh! That's not good! What's happening?! Bull?!" The vent that Zane and Cadavre went through pours even more Switchwater on them, like a waterfall! This is a nightmare! The beverage begins flooding the pub as the Bottlefly Boy rushes to the door. It's stuck! He turns to the salesman. "Please, do something!"

Wadsworth heads over to a fire extinguisher and yanks it off the wall. The beverage is at the height of his chest as he swims towards the door. "Stand back!" He throws the extinguisher at the door and KA-BOOM more Switchwater bursts through the door from outside. It floods fast, lifting everyone off the floor towards the ceiling.

"Zut! This is a trap!" Cadavre grunted.

Wadsworth gasped, "Oh my gosh! Not the fan!" The flooding is reaching the ceiling, and they struggle to swim away from it. "We can try swimming through the door to the surface!"

"I'm trying to!" Maurice puffed while swimming as the fan blades touch the lake and start stirring it up like coffee. Zane and Cadavre dive down under the Switchwater, but Maurice is nowhere to be seen as the salesman notices.

The duo swims quickly towards the door and straight on through. While they're swimming up towards the surface, Wadsworth sees a floating Baird Televisor displaying the face of a mad version of... himself.