"This isn't really a more pleasant topic, but I don't have a lot of nice things to write since the situation's just so awful, so here goes!
A few days into the month, we all received messages on our watch from a shadowy figure called J. The message said that you could find him in "the Roost," which is "his personal playground where the House has limited reach." He then invited everyone to come visit him on the 16th floor after hours.
I'd heard the name once from Rinne-senpai. All I knew was that he wasn't the man in charge, but that he had "stakes in this place," so Rinne-senpai had been trying to pry information from him. I wasn't sure what he meant by "stakes," but if he has access to everyone's watches, he must at least have some importance. So, with that thought in mind, I graciously accepted the invite.
The Roost was just awful. Unlike the rest of the resort, which is sparkling clean at the very least, the Roost was dirty and dingy. There was cigarette smoke everywhere, the walls and carpet were stained, and the guests there were very ill-mannered. Everyone was shouting or getting into bar fights at the bar, and the games area was just a gambling den full of drunk, desperate players. The smell was terrible, too. But I soldiered into the gambling anyway, in hopes of hearing some information.
As I said before, I haven't spent much time at the casino. But the gambling that goes on at the Roost seems much shadier than the gambling at the casino. People weren't just betting chips; some of them were betting body parts. Everyone was desperate to win at all costs, and some were in a great deal of debt to J. And the card dealer I spoke to said that he could grant wishes - but nothing as big as leaving the resort, and only if I'd bet something equivalent in return. Which of course I didn't, since I have my head on straight.
I got distracted in there for a bit, but I went back and found J the next day. He was in his office, so I walked in and asked some questions. This is what he looked like:
[This page is broken up by a crude illustration of J. There was no attempt to make him look decent, so it's just a caricature of a sleazy old guy with a creepy grin sitting at a desk.]
"By now, I should have known better than to expect anyone to be helpful, but talking to him was even more useless than expected. I asked questions, but all he did was laugh at me and not bother to answer any of them. The only information I gleaned from our exchange was that he hadn't heard of ES - or at least he claimed he hadn't. Nor had he heard of Godfather, who used to control the industry from the shadows. It's possible he lied, of course, but he really didn't seem to recognize those names, so I assume he's not the one choosing who gets kidnapped.
I did learn other things about him from Rinne-senpai, who tried to ply him with alcohol. Rinne-senpai said J used to be a player, but that he used his wish for something other than leaving the resort. He also thought J might be a ghost, and that he was killed in the resort a long time ago. The second one sounds especially unlikely to me, but Rinne-senpai isn't the first person to bring up ghosts in relation to this place, so I guess those really do exist around here.
As for the first one, that's something to look into, I suppose. Even if he really was granted a wish, it doesn't seem to have done him any good, since he ended up a sad alcoholic managing a sleazy bar somewhere. That might be proof the wishes are fool's gold. Perhaps the House does grant you one, but it gets corrupted somehow, sort of like wishing on the Monkey's Paw.
Anyway, I wouldn't say either of my visits to the Roost were very useful, and that sort of environment doesn't suit me at ALL, so I won't be going back there again."
THE ROOST AND J
A few days into the month, we all received messages on our watch from a shadowy figure called J. The message said that you could find him in "the Roost," which is "his personal playground where the House has limited reach." He then invited everyone to come visit him on the 16th floor after hours.
I'd heard the name once from Rinne-senpai. All I knew was that he wasn't the man in charge, but that he had "stakes in this place," so Rinne-senpai had been trying to pry information from him. I wasn't sure what he meant by "stakes," but if he has access to everyone's watches, he must at least have some importance. So, with that thought in mind, I graciously accepted the invite.
The Roost was just awful. Unlike the rest of the resort, which is sparkling clean at the very least, the Roost was dirty and dingy. There was cigarette smoke everywhere, the walls and carpet were stained, and the guests there were very ill-mannered. Everyone was shouting or getting into bar fights at the bar, and the games area was just a gambling den full of drunk, desperate players. The smell was terrible, too. But I soldiered into the gambling anyway, in hopes of hearing some information.
As I said before, I haven't spent much time at the casino. But the gambling that goes on at the Roost seems much shadier than the gambling at the casino. People weren't just betting chips; some of them were betting body parts. Everyone was desperate to win at all costs, and some were in a great deal of debt to J. And the card dealer I spoke to said that he could grant wishes - but nothing as big as leaving the resort, and only if I'd bet something equivalent in return. Which of course I didn't, since I have my head on straight.
I got distracted in there for a bit, but I went back and found J the next day. He was in his office, so I walked in and asked some questions. This is what he looked like:
[This page is broken up by a crude illustration of J. There was no attempt to make him look decent, so it's just a caricature of a sleazy old guy with a creepy grin sitting at a desk.]
"By now, I should have known better than to expect anyone to be helpful, but talking to him was even more useless than expected. I asked questions, but all he did was laugh at me and not bother to answer any of them. The only information I gleaned from our exchange was that he hadn't heard of ES - or at least he claimed he hadn't. Nor had he heard of Godfather, who used to control the industry from the shadows. It's possible he lied, of course, but he really didn't seem to recognize those names, so I assume he's not the one choosing who gets kidnapped.
I did learn other things about him from Rinne-senpai, who tried to ply him with alcohol. Rinne-senpai said J used to be a player, but that he used his wish for something other than leaving the resort. He also thought J might be a ghost, and that he was killed in the resort a long time ago. The second one sounds especially unlikely to me, but Rinne-senpai isn't the first person to bring up ghosts in relation to this place, so I guess those really do exist around here.
As for the first one, that's something to look into, I suppose. Even if he really was granted a wish, it doesn't seem to have done him any good, since he ended up a sad alcoholic managing a sleazy bar somewhere. That might be proof the wishes are fool's gold. Perhaps the House does grant you one, but it gets corrupted somehow, sort of like wishing on the Monkey's Paw.
Anyway, I wouldn't say either of my visits to the Roost were very useful, and that sort of environment doesn't suit me at ALL, so I won't be going back there again."