Attic Antics: What’s Going On Up There?

     “I’m scared” whispered Pealightfull under his breath.

     “Don’t be scared, I’m right here and we are almost there” replied Acraim, whose glowing disposition made her resemble a shining beacon of safety between the ominous trees that surrounded them.

     Pealightfull had always been picked on due to his small stature, but that never stopped him from going on adventures and taking risks when others were too scared to even try. His pea-shape meant that he always had to put on a brave front, and that is exactly what he aimed to do today.

     His little feet tried to move quickly to keep up. He was the one who had asked the question, after all. Now he was wondering if this was a mistake. He was trying to act brave like his big sister, because he really did want to see the Abandoned Attic for himself. He had heard the stories but had never been there in person. Acraim ventured here often with Mother, or so she said.

     “It’s really not that scary in there, mainly just filled with lots of dust and cobwebs” she said, as she continued to try and make Pealightfull feel better about it all.

     “It really does need a clean up, we should see if we can lend a hand to the ghost who lives up there”.

     This remark sent shivers up Pealightfull’s little body.

     “Gh .. gh .. ghost?!” he blabbered.

     “Oh I should have mentioned that earlier! There is a ghost who lives in the attic, but she is very friendly! She tries to keep the place clean despite the old junk up there. She can’t do much of it herself due to her, uh, inability to pick things up, but really does try her best. She also loves to have visitors, so you best be nice” Acraim said to put Pealightfull at ease as they saw the dimly lit city in a break in the tree line.

     “We are here”.

     While they had walked and talked, Pealightfull hadn't even noticed they had walked through a graveyard before reaching the gate which led into the city. The eerie fog only just covered the cracked earth beneath their feet, but they could see the headstones were covered in unforgiving, untamed vines. It seemed as if no one had tended to these for years, leaving the grounds to claim back their space.

     Acraim had been doing a great job at keeping him distracted from the scary parts of this walk.

     A quaint little house lay nestled on the outer brim of the city, with frosted and grimy windows that showed a dim, flickering light coming through. It looked like candle light, and was strangely hypnotising. Before he knew it, Pealightfull took the lead and walked straight through the front door of the abandoned house like he had been there before. Acraim laughed and rolled her eyes. She already knew this place was nothing to fear, and followed him inside.

     They heard voices upstairs, accompanied by loud creaks in the old floorboards as people seemed to move about.

     Pealightfull continued walking ahead, looking for the stairs which led to the Attic he had heard all of those stories about. It didn’t take long to find; it was narrow, dark and cold, yet the voices upstairs possessed a friendly tone. They walked up the stairs into the Attic, where the feeling was completely underwhelming once Pealightfull walked through the old entranceway.

     “It’s so .. dusty in here” Pealightfull said out loud, even though he knew immediately that he didn’t need to voice his observations out loud.

     There was a small gathering of people standing over by the window where the full moon shone so bright, illuminating the room. Acraim had walked over to them, when Pealightfull realised that mother was standing with them!

     She gave Acraim a big hug, after which they then both walked over to him. She greeted him with a kiss, told them both she was so happy they could join her here - and then walked back over to the group she had been talking to when they arrived.

     Acraim excitedly began telling Pealightfull that they just missed it moments ago, the big event the people come here to see!

     “What happens up here? asked Pealightfull. There doesn’t seem to be anything in here besides some cobwebs and stacks of dusty books, and everyone is just sitting around like they are waiting for something to happen?”

     Pealightfull was waiting for his big sister to answer his curious questions about this place, but she was looking right over him with a slight smirk on her face. He was too late to turn around, as the resident ghost had come up right beside him to welcome her new visitor.

     “Welcome! I am very happy to have a visitor, I wish someone who wasn’t a ghost would help me clean up a bit".

     He was frozen still in his spot - eyes wide and pupils fixed on this transparent creature. The very friendly Ghost Aisha had already floated away, trying to tidy the messy bookshelf and greet visitors as they walked through the door with the exact same greeting she had used on him.

     Acraim started laughing hysterically.

     “That’s not funny!” yelled Pealightfull. By then he had calmed down and regained his ability to speak. After all, it felt very cosy and warm here. He was starting to see this was not a scary place at all.

     “Okay okay .. let me explain to you what happens here ..” Acraim explained what she knows about this place based off her visits here with Mother:

     Only those who have accounts that are at least 36 months (3 years) old can visit this place

     There are a range of items between rarity 80 - rarity 99 that show up (restock) in here

     They are priced at their ‘Est Value’, and you don’t need to haggle on a price to nab one!

     You can take an item every 20 minutes, and only up to 5 items a day

     The items show up (restock) at 14 minutes past the last restock time, and then 7 minutes consecutively past that until it restocks again

     There are 24 items that show up (6x rows of 4)

     There are a friendly group of people who help keep times on the 'Site Games’ board - since it can be easy to lose your time if you walk away!

     “Oh, this is where mother spends all day! Now I understand why some days she comes back with random bits of junk. You must need to be fast to get some of the good items that show up in here?” asked Pealightfull.

     “Yes, there are some extremely valuable items that show up here, which is why so many people like to visit this place. It’s not easy, but it sure is fun! It takes lots of practice too, to know what to look out for. I know mother has not mastered that yet, and I’m not sure if she will - but don’t tell her that I said that” chuckled Acraim.

     They both sat there a little while longer, watching people come and go. Nothing much had happened since they had been there, an hour had passed and no new items had shown up. The visitors all get excited every 7 minutes or so, but the mysterious rooms keep them waiting that little bit longer.

     They decided it was enough, and after all of the excitement getting there they both forgot they had not eaten all morning! They made their way back downstairs, and out of the quaint little house.

     The dim lights that lined the footpath buzzed as they walked past them.

     “I know Apple Bobbing is right over here somewhere, can we go play, please!?” asked Pealightfull in excitement.

     “Of course we can, then let’s head over to The Crumpetmonger for some delicious pastries” replied Acraim, as they walked side by side up the footpath in Neovia.

     The End.