Palace Game 6/5

[fujimaru]

The Dreamer In The Grand Temple
Humanity Foundation Value: ????

What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

Comments

NOVUM CHALDEA

[fujimaru]

You find yourself in what appears to be standing on the walkway in a strange room. The floor is tile except for the rough stone ring that surrounds the middle podium that is immediately in front of you. You have the strong feeling that something should be in the middle of that ring, but it stands completely empty. When you walk around the tall, strange striped walls (they hum with a low-grade steady vibration the whole time, an energy buzz, glowing a faint bright blue), you can find a flight of narrow stairs that will take you up to the four doors you can see from your starting point.

Along with the low-grade buzzing of the walls, there is the sound of distant voices murmuring, but you can't see anyone around, other than what companions that might have stumbled in at the same time as you.

It feels like home, but also not quite right, like someone has come through and just subtly rearranged the furniture when you weren't looking.

[strikingchords]

[WHAT THE HECKIE IS ALL OF THIS, honestly

...he's going to step into the center of the ring to see if he can sense anything past "something should be here," first off...]

[derailer]

[Hold on, setting description. Ingo Pokemon is going to immediately check that his brother and girlfriend are here instead.]

[rootsforyou]

[dang this is the future

can she inspect the ring? to check if there are fresh or faded markings there, or if anything maybe has just fallen out of the ring and is lying nearby...]

Re: NOVUM CHALDEA

[unlimitedtimeoff]

... 'kay. What kind of cyberpunk aesthetic is this? Not very TRON-like, at least.

[only way to go is forward, so. going forward!]

[davincible]

... [ This is definitely off, in a few different ways, but Da Vinci frowns quietly and steps forward to the ring. ]

Not even the fun kind of naked in here...

[messianic]

[ oh whoa. Sci-fi-esque.

Naturally he is going to try to go touch the glowing walls as he reorients himself. ]

[markofkaine]

Christ, I hate metaphysical shit...

[Investigating the middle podium seems like a good first step. Looking for any marks for something that might have stood here. Hurf.]

Re: NOVUM CHALDEA

[featherbeaned]

[ Distant voices murmuring? She tries to focus on those, head tilting ]

[survivaltricks]

[it's definitely Akira now; his hair is the usual length, with no shadows creeping up his cheeks or his hands. he doesn't seem to be surprised about where he's wound up-- not because he's familiar with the location itself, but more because. . . well, he knows how Palaces works!!]

[which means he is immediately trying the obvious-]

RITSUKAAAAAAA ARE YOU HERE???

[. . . by yelling her name at the ceiling to see if she responds]

Re: NOVUM CHALDEA

[markofkaine]

[Comes back here with the golden ring from Ritsuka's room. Any reaction when he brings it to the podium?]

Re: NOVUM CHALDEA

[fujimaru]

[ Surprise, the door opens back here. Who would have guessed,

(It probably wasn't that hard to guess.)

Ritsuka, though, starts walking for that empty space with the podium, not letting go of Minato's hand. ]

MY ROOM

[fujimaru]

The door opens to a room that full of clutter in a controlled sort of way--there's just a lot of stuff that's been carefully arranged all over the place. Please note that none of the perishable food items can be found here, and you won't find anything past the "Bunny Ears". There's more than that besides, though--this is the room of someone who has gotten into the habit of accumulating little souvenirs of varying sorts.

On a shelf over the bed, there are five isolated items: a round stuffed dokkaebi toy, a tarot card of the Sun, a figurine that looks like a mass of black tentacles studded with red eyes, a torn-up bingo card. You might see flashes of team colors scattered all around the room as well.

Seriously, though, this room looks like the setting of a hidden object game. Have fun.

[messianic]

[ as a purveyor of knick-knacks himself (thanks Social Links), Minato immediately feels at home here, thanks.

Except that it's probably Ritsuka's room, oops. It's so rude to go into a girl's room without permission. ]

Er... sorry for the intrusion... if you can hear me.

[ he'll just have to apologize again later, right? So in he goes!! He's gonna be distracted by all of the Stuff for a bit, pls hold. ]

Re: MY ROOM

[markofkaine]

[Picks up the figurine with black tentacles]

This must be the demon inside her...

[is there anything else demon-y or filled with eyes around here?]

[davincible]

[ Oh, boy. Such fun clutter.

Da Vinci just glances around, and then sighs, glancing at the twins. She sees that figurine. She hates it. ]

Well, you two can investigate. Just be careful.

[ The figurine is TOP SUSPICION but she's going to go look at the tarot card first. ]

[strikingchords]

[he will, in fact, pick up and frown at the Bunny Ears]

Re: MY ROOM

[unlimitedtimeoff]

[IMPRESSED WHISTLE]

And I thought I was messy.

[it's a lie, he doesn't keep souvenirs]

[survivaltricks]

[omg]

Ritsuka. . . you need to spring clean.

[NATURALLY, BEING A PROTAG, HE GOES TO THE TAROT CARD. time to pick it up and examine it!]

THE CAFETERIA

[fujimaru]

When you enter, you find yourself in a large, fairly standard-looking cafeteria. There's the smell of something delicious coming from the food line, and there are various games--board games, card games, a whole-ass VR setup--scattered around, though no one appears to be around playing anything. You can hear voices, though, cheerful chatter and the occasional grumble and argument; even if there's no one to be seen, it sounds like there's a bunch of people having a great time all around you.

It feels comfortable here, welcoming. It feels like walking into a room and seeing beloved friends waiting for you... even though no one is here at all.

Re: THE CAFETERIA

[featherbeaned]

[ oh no ]

[ OH NO FOOD SMELLS ]

... Hello?

THE GALLERY OF MEMORIES

[fujimaru]

You have entered on the left end of a wide-open white-walled gallery, full of framed paintings of various sizes and shapes. Your footsteps echo, as does the door as it closes behind you. There is a sense of buzzing tension here, like you're holding your breath.

Immediately in front of you, a young woman kneels before a painting labeled as The Flame-Contaminated City. She is weeping, her face buried in her hands. The closer you get to her, the more you can see that while she appears mostly solid, there's something a bit of: a slight transparency, like she isn't entirely there.

Further down the hallway, you can see two other figures standing at certain points. One of them might be familiar to you, depending on how well you know the members of Sphinx. They have the same sort of odd near-transparency to them.

The gallery looks as-depicted, except there is one additional painting: that of a a young girl, bright-eyed and hopeful, her hands clasped as if in prayer.

[strikingchords]

[LAN WANGJI WILL IMMEDIATELY APPROACH THAT WEEPING WOMAN, CONCERNED, then stand statuesque and awkward next to her,,,]

Maiden.

the delights of a human's heart

[fujimaru]

The first thing that hits you, upon walking into the cavern behind the door, is the smell--blood, old and fresh, layers upon layers of it, metallic and cloying. As dry as the command room was, there is suddenly dark liquid sloshing around your feet, up to mid-calf. In the dim lighting, it looks black, but you know with a deep, unpleasant certainty that it is blood.

The smell seems cumulative, too; it starts out as tolerable, but the longer you stay, the more and more overwhelming it becomes. You can hear whispers all around you, fierce angry hurting snatches of conversation, though it is impossible to make out actual words. It feels like there are thousands upon thousands of eyes watching you, and every single one of them wants you worse than dead.

[davincible]

... Maybe I should have had them stay back.

[ oops. Well, it can't all be pleasant here, and she sloshes forward, seemingly undeterred by the weight of such a murderous gaze x a Lot. ]

THE CRYPT

[fujimaru]

You enter a round room with seven doors, each with a statue standing beside it, as if on guard. Four of these doors are badly damaged, their "guardian" ruined, reduced to rubble, though you can see that each door has something embedded on it, if you can make it past the debris. The other three are locked, each with a different symbol emblazoned on the center of it.

For just a moment, it feels like there is an intense crushing weight on you--not just the weight of the world, but of many, so heavy that it is impossible to breathe. Just for a moment, and then it lightens.

Re: THE CRYPT

[unlimitedtimeoff]

[ahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA--OKAY, HE'S USED TO ONE WORLD RESPONSIBILITY SO AHAHAHAHAHA--

oops, he actually did start laughing a bit. cuts self off.]

I see, I see! So it's like that. It's really like that, huh? You idiot.

THE TEMPLE

[fujimaru]

You find yourself in a wide-open throne room that appears to have no ceilings. There are columns that thrust up and disappear from view, swallowed up by a soft blue sky that is crowned with a wide circle directly overhead by a dark ring. If you look up, you can see what appears to be an endless void.

Before you are hundreds of steps, so white that they glow faintly in the ambient light, and there is a throne at the very top. A man sits on that throne, looking down at you. His expression is flat, his lip curled in just the beginning of a sneer.

[davincible]

[ Well. Hopefully no one skipped on leg day. Up we go. ]

Your face is going to freeze like that. I know, you don't care.

FUJIMARU RITSUKA

[fujimaru]

The room he leads you to is both simple and elegant, mostly empty except for a wide canopy bed at the very center. It's the sort of thing that an ancient queen might have used, once upon a time.

And there she is: small and fast asleep, curled around a smaller version of this device, which is glowing a gentle blue.

[davincible]

... [ She breathes out softly, the most she'll allow herself instead of sagging in relief.

And then she steps closer to the bed, clearing her throat and what emerges is a Very Authoritative and Loud Tone. ]

Ritsuka Fujimaru! You're late! Report to the command room for an emergency briefing immediately!