ARMOIRE
You pull open the doors of the armoire, revealing another dark scene. Five dolls are staring at you in a line. They’re standard dolls from the time period, but something about them keeps pulling your eyes to them. Another doll’s head hangs from the shelf above on a chain and, as is fitting the rest of the unsettling things you’ve seen so far, its mouth appears stitched shut. An old leather briefcase on the top shelf catches your eye.
You scoff at your reaction and lean in to study the dolls. They are both more and less unsettling up close. You’re distracted from their empty eyes on you by the realization that their heads are made so they can turn. When you reach out to try, you find that their heads can be rotated both to the left and to the right, as well as straight. An unusual feature for dolls of their time.
You scoff at your reaction and lean in to study the dolls. They are both more and less unsettling up close. You’re distracted from their empty eyes on you by the realization that their heads are made so they can turn. When you reach out to try, you find that their heads can be rotated both to the left and to the right, as well as straight. An unusual feature for dolls of their time.
As you run your hands across the worn surface, inspecting the case, the strong smell of the old leather starts to overwhelm you. You rub your hand down your face, and when you look up the apparition of a middle-aged man in a suit and hat appears before you.
“Fancy my wares, do you? I’ll give you quite the deal.”
“You must be the Salesman.”
“So, my reputation precedes me? Otto’s the name, at your service. Do you have any children? A daughter perhaps? I’m sure they’d love one of these timeless dolls. They’re all the rage these days you know. Excellent gifts! If you don’t like what you see here, I’ve more in my car just outside! You might not like these dolls anyway, they… have a mind of their own, it seems. Anyway, how many can I put you down for?”
“I was on my way out of town, hoping to head somewhere where business might be better. Who would I happen to pass with a stalled vehicle on the roadside, but the one family I hadn’t gotten a chance to pitch to yet. So, spotting a good opportunity, I gave them a lift back here. Two-birds-one-stone, you know? Do a good deed, get a chance to sell a couple dolls. Hindsight though, maybe I should’ve just kept on driving…“
“Well, yes and no. I hadn’t gotten the chance to meet anyone named “McDermott”, but I had stopped by the house once, to try to pitch my goods. The only person that seemed to be home lived here, but wasn’t family. It was that tall, quiet guy, Emmett. Kinda unsettling fella, right? Well, he wouldn’t even listen to my spiel, and just sent me on my way. So, when I passed the group on the road, it was my first time meeting the actual family, the mom, son, and aunt. Emmett was there too, but he didn’t acknowledge that we’d met already, so neither did I.“
“Ah, crud. You know about that? Look, surely you know how things were. “Audo” was a little too… foreign. “Otto”, however, is a good, wholesome, American name. Folks’ll trust “Otto” and his wholesome children’s toys.“
“Are you sure that’s the reason you want to give me?”
“Well… Hypothetically, maybe “Audo” was known for some not on the up-and-up business that “Otto” wanted to get some distance from. A traveling salesman named Otto could get a good bit of distance and maybe bring some happiness into people’s lives. Hypothetically, of course.”
As you run your hands across the worn surface, inspecting the case, the strong smell of the old leather starts to overwhelm you. You rub your hand down your face, and when you look up the apparition of a middle-aged man in a suit and hat appears before you.
“Fancy my wares, do you? I’ll give you quite the deal.”
“You must be the Salesman.”
“So, my reputation precedes me? Otto’s the name, at your service. Do you have any children? A daughter perhaps? I’m sure they’d love one of these timeless dolls. They’re all the rage these days you know. Excellent gifts! If you don’t like what you see here, I’ve more in my car just outside! You might not like these dolls anyway, they… have a mind of their own, it seems. Anyway, how many can I put you down for?”
“You must be the Salesman.”
“So, my reputation precedes me? Otto’s the name, at your service. Do you have any children? A daughter perhaps? I’m sure they’d love one of these timeless dolls. They’re all the rage these days you know. Excellent gifts! If you don’t like what you see here, I’ve more in my car just outside! You might not like these dolls anyway, they… have a mind of their own, it seems. Anyway, how many can I put you down for?”
“I was on my way out of town, hoping to head somewhere where business might be better. Who would I happen to pass with a stalled vehicle on the roadside, but the one family I hadn’t gotten a chance to pitch to yet. So, spotting a good opportunity, I gave them a lift back here. Two-birds-one-stone, you know? Do a good deed, get a chance to sell a couple dolls. Hindsight though, maybe I should’ve just kept on driving…“
“Well, yes and no. I hadn’t gotten the chance to meet anyone named “McDermott”, but I had stopped by the house once, to try to pitch my goods. The only person that seemed to be home lived here, but wasn’t family. It was that tall, quiet guy, Emmett. Kinda unsettling fella, right? Well, he wouldn’t even listen to my spiel, and just sent me on my way. So, when I passed the group on the road, it was my first time meeting the actual family, the mom, son, and aunt. Emmett was there too, but he didn’t acknowledge that we’d met already, so neither did I.“
“Ah, crud. You know about that? Look, surely you know how things were. “Audo” was a little too… foreign. “Otto”, however, is a good, wholesome, American name. Folks’ll trust “Otto” and his wholesome children’s toys.“
“Are you sure that’s the reason you want to give me?”
“Well… Hypothetically, maybe “Audo” was known for some not on the up-and-up business that “Otto” wanted to get some distance from. A traveling salesman named Otto could get a good bit of distance and maybe bring some happiness into people’s lives. Hypothetically, of course.”
“Are you sure that’s the reason you want to give me?”
“Well… Hypothetically, maybe “Audo” was known for some not on the up-and-up business that “Otto” wanted to get some distance from. A traveling salesman named Otto could get a good bit of distance and maybe bring some happiness into people’s lives. Hypothetically, of course.”
The bottom cabinet is, as expected, locked. It looks like you’ll need a key to open it. Once you’ve found it, input the key ID here:
The bottom cabinet is, as expected, locked. It looks like you’ll need a key to open it. Once you’ve found it, input the key ID here:
