[not like he did anyone any good in there! he got their friends killed! please take care of ashlyn, rondo, he is not to be trusted with this.
also he's a little twink so like please one of you do the carrying. please. he clutches at the staff he'd retrieved, after that, taking a cautious look around.
[ just a matter of fact observation as she lets lavi tend to her leg. she doesn't mean 'leave her behind' or anything, just that she wants to acknowledge that she's slowing them down because that sucks.
she's chill being handed off to whoever. ]
But we know where to go, then? The Pleasure Chamber? [ i think it should be illegal for a 15 year old to say those words.
[listen. they're all dead weight here. but lavi is an expert in first aid so he knows how to tie off a wound and not like cut off circulation to ashlyn's leg, unless that's what you're supposed to do when you're binding wounds. i have no idea.
he does magically take these boots out of his storage and start putting them on. imagine i said he was so busy being barefoot-less that he doesn't notice whoever else is in here.]
Yeah, if we're ready, then let's go.
[but he senses the vibe of the other three looking, so he'll turn his single eye to HALF OF THE MOST OF THEM]
[well, you see! by most of them, i mean there's a lot of like... dragonborn, half-orcs, humans, tieflings. they're milling about in the same rags you are, staring vacantly. they mumble to themselves as they walk around, talking about... deals, about promises made. promises kept, promises broken. parts they could not uphold.
these are all strangers to you, and you'd be forgiven for not paying them much thought. they seem like real people, though. people who had lives, people who had families and dreams and - well. not anymore. they're a little like husks.
still. it's kind of hard to miss the seven foot red tiefling that's down the hall. or the pretty young man with long black hair in a ponytail, or the sweet young woman with brown hair neatly braided and held in place with a ribbon. the man with spiky blonde hair. the bearded man with brown hair at his shoulders, streaked with grey. those all seem familiar.
they're wandering around in the same way, holding onto brooms and sweeping the same spot over and over, or staring at a wall, whispering to themselves, or...]
[yeah! one of those in particular is really hard to miss!
he- almost calls out to that familiar-looking figure, wondering whether that is her, but... after what happened in the library, he finds himself hesitant. they died when he tried to help, and if that's her, what if he hurries to her and something else terrible happens?
(then again, what if he doesn't, and something else terrible happens?)
mathis is going to have to work back up to making executive decisions like that. for now, he hesitates, unless one of the others moves first.]
[ hi quick question why is this just a room full of all her favorite people. she's actually an idiot enough to struggle to be let down, now.
please! we need to go talk to all of my very real friends!!!!! she remembers the previous cyoaers saying they saw people from home but her brain is a little too panicked to remember that they also saw people from the village. ]
okay yeah most of these are complete strangers, but the ones who aren't??? Lavi does not call out anyone's names, mostly because he's trying to understand why everyone is here and why they're acting like the others -- as if they're all husks, and this is... he thinks of the note ashlyn and mathis found.
souls.
and for a single, stupid moment, terror seizes him like a vise.]
okay, well. rondo's going to take ashlyn from mathis before things get immediately bad, readjusting his axe and. idk its fantasy don't worry about it but he's getting her up and on his back when the others start to react, too. rondo turns his head to follow everyone else's gazes.
it's - just as jarring, just as awful. maybe seeing a listless karlach is the worst one, because it just feels so wrong. this is hell, right? and hell does things like this. hell makes you see your worst nightmares. and none of the people in this group should be here, none of them deserve something like this. rondo's breath catches, heart swooping in his chest, but it's ashlyn's struggling that starts to kick him into gear. he holds onto her a little tighter. ]
Wait - wait, wait, that's not - it's not real, they're not... [ real, he wants to finish, but the note comes back to mind, too. ] - Listen. Listen, if they're here, we might, we might be able to find them in that room, too.
[are you sure they're not real? it's not like you'd really know. maybe they got brought here right before you. maybe they failed to get the hammer, and this is the punishment. you don't really know.
none of them respond to any calls, just milling about. they look tired. wrung out. like they're missing something, something important.
kanda walks right past lavi, slow, with no purpose. when he looks at lavi there's recognition for just a split second, and he stops. and then it's gone, and his gaze unfocuses again as he turns and walks away.
karlach sinks down to the ground, at stares up at the ceiling, listlessly. eyes blank. her tail twitches just a bit at the sound of her name, but nothing else. a little bit away from her, gale is standing with his hands tangled in his hair, murmuring to himself the same few words over and over again. it sounds like he's trying to remember the end to his sentence, but he can't quite get there.
aerith gently sways back and forth, holding a broom and humming to herself, broken up occasionally by little bouts of nonsense laughter. cloud stands in front of a portrait down the hallway, staring at it without seeing, hands twisting into his clothing.
they look real. they're not acting right, but - you read about the souls. some of you know what the hells are. it's not a huge leap.
[ okay. okay, eyes on the prize. eyes on the prize. don't - don't think about it. he looks at cloud and he looks at the portrait he's staring at, and he sucks in a breath. don't let it happen. cloud would be so pissed at him if he just died because he decided to run into him in a trap. surprised? probably not. but still pissed!!! and the fear of disappointing him, and aerith, and karlach, too, karlach who he knows fought tooth and nail to escape this very place, is enough.
exhale. ]
... Let's - come on. We can save them, too. If - if it is them, we can save them too. We have to keep going.
[his gaze lingers worriedly on karlach and kanda both, and he still sort of wants to go to her, but--
right. rondo is right. they have to... if they keep going, maybe they can do something. if this hammer will let them help, perhaps they can help with their friends too.]
...all right. Um, then we should hurry.
[looking between the two remaining doors... splitting up again might help.
he's scooting more towards the sitting room because boy was that stuff about SOULS concerning, and he has. reasons to not want the other one.]
because it very well might not be, because monsters wearing the skins of humans they've just devoured, soul and all, are a super normal occurrence, and anyway, it seems a little too calculated to have this specific group here -- one that's garnered a reaction from each of them. he doesn't like it, and that's fine because they need to move on anyway,]
Rondo. Look for the hammer with Ashlyn. I'll go with Mathis to the sitting room.
[the door to the pleasure room is clearly labeled! as you approach, one of the half-orc debtors off to the side bursts into hysterical laughter and falls down to sit on the ground, staring at the ceiling. fun.
[ this is not going to help anything. he adjusts his grip on ashlyn, mindful of her injuries, enough so he can get a hand free to rest on his brand new axe. just in case. he's gonna swing this one handed karlach be proud ]
Ready? [ he tilts his head back a little towards her, with a bit of a smile, though it's grim. ] If you see something that I don't, just pull on my hair or something. Let's go get that hammer.
[ she's still got her knife, ready to stab... well. anything that gets in stabbing range of rondo i suppose. though she is lamenting that having her arms over his shoulders for stability means she can't cover her ears from that fucking laUGHTER. ]
there's a very big pool in the middle of the room, which might be where the steam is coming from. it looks a little like a hot spring, or hot tub. imagine like a fairy fountain in zelda, where you walk down a little path and down into a puddle of water, only it's an in-ground hot tub. super enticing, very spalike. there's nobody in here, but there are soft floating lights here and there in the air, illuminating the place. you can hear soft music coming from somewhere.
also, it's surrounded by mirrors. all of the walls in this room are mirrors. do you keep going in?]
this is... a lot. it's hot! it's sweaty. it's pretty! even rondo has absolutely zero trust of a single second of it. is there any indication as to where the...smells... are coming from...? are there any other people in here...? he will keep heading in, though not into the pool or anything, just walking forward with caution.
he does not talk because the last time he talked he got slapped with a silence but rondo mouths to himself... if i were a hammer... where would i be... ]
[ that was a library, you just have to be quiet in libraries! but ashlyn appreciates the quiet anyway. better safe than sorry?
the hot tub at least is not enticing to her, because she has a leg wound. and since rondo is doing the walking, she can really just focus on the usual: observing and listening closely for anything more than the music.
looking at all these mirrors... are they just normal mirrors? i don't trust you. ]
[there's a door here, leading to the clearly labeled sitting room! it's more quiet in there than you might expect. a bit like the way office ambience sounds.
will you enter... do you knock first or just walk right in?]
[thinks about how lavi still has arrows in him and Mathis is covered in blood (not his?), but maybe that will sell the 'clearly another debtor drifting around lost without their souls' thing...
anyway, he'll knock on the door!! while also double checking the doorknob and any other fancy iron dishes that may need blood samples from either of them]
[mathis is also looking for those, after the library door incident...
but since lavi has knocking covered, mathis lingers close.
oh one thing he's doing before they hit this door up is if there's a spare broom he's going to like, steal the sweepy bit to tie to this staff of his and try to disguise it as a broom too. that way he's not wandering around with this stick for no reason and he can keep it close.
he's clutching it as he sticks close to lavi's side, nervous.]
[ why is this so funny. sure mathis you can take a broom, debtor aerith couldn’t care less when you pull it from her hands, she simply wanders off humming in another direction down the hallway. enjoy broomstaff.
the knocker rings out heavily, and then, a tired sounding voice: ]
[(lotr voice) you wouldn't part a mathis from his walking stick
Lavi glances at Mathis, trying to look as reassuring as possible, a 'we got this' sort of look that is operating purely on confidence here, but at least Mathis has his staff broom
and then he pushes the door open, and steps into the room. WHAT'S IN HERE!!! as for the tea question........]
Nope, sorry! Completely forgot.
[the first step to forging any new relationship............. Honesty]
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[not like he did anyone any good in there! he got their friends killed! please take care of ashlyn, rondo, he is not to be trusted with this.
also he's a little twink so like please one of you do the carrying. please. he clutches at the staff he'd retrieved, after that, taking a cautious look around.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN MOST OF THEM...]
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[ just a matter of fact observation as she lets lavi tend to her leg. she doesn't mean 'leave her behind' or anything, just that she wants to acknowledge that she's slowing them down because that sucks.
she's chill being handed off to whoever. ]
But we know where to go, then? The Pleasure Chamber? [ i think it should be illegal for a 15 year old to say those words.
ALSO YEAH. WHAT DO YOU MEAN MOST OF THEM. ]
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[listen. they're all dead weight here. but lavi is an expert in first aid so he knows how to tie off a wound and not like cut off circulation to ashlyn's leg, unless that's what you're supposed to do when you're binding wounds. i have no idea.
he does magically take these boots out of his storage and start putting them on. imagine i said he was so busy being barefoot-less that he doesn't notice whoever else is in here.]
Yeah, if we're ready, then let's go.
[but he senses the vibe of the other three looking, so he'll turn his single eye to HALF OF THE MOST OF THEM]
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these are all strangers to you, and you'd be forgiven for not paying them much thought. they seem like real people, though. people who had lives, people who had families and dreams and - well. not anymore. they're a little like husks.
still. it's kind of hard to miss the seven foot red tiefling that's down the hall. or the pretty young man with long black hair in a ponytail, or the sweet young woman with brown hair neatly braided and held in place with a ribbon. the man with spiky blonde hair. the bearded man with brown hair at his shoulders, streaked with grey. those all seem familiar.
they're wandering around in the same way, holding onto brooms and sweeping the same spot over and over, or staring at a wall, whispering to themselves, or...]
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[yeah! one of those in particular is really hard to miss!
he- almost calls out to that familiar-looking figure, wondering whether that is her, but... after what happened in the library, he finds himself hesitant. they died when he tried to help, and if that's her, what if he hurries to her and something else terrible happens?
(then again, what if he doesn't, and something else terrible happens?)
mathis is going to have to work back up to making executive decisions like that. for now, he hesitates, unless one of the others moves first.]
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please! we need to go talk to all of my very real friends!!!!! she remembers the previous cyoaers saying they saw people from home but her brain is a little too panicked to remember that they also saw people from the village. ]
More of us?
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okay yeah most of these are complete strangers, but the ones who aren't??? Lavi does not call out anyone's names, mostly because he's trying to understand why everyone is here and why they're acting like the others -- as if they're all husks, and this is... he thinks of the note ashlyn and mathis found.
souls.
and for a single, stupid moment, terror seizes him like a vise.]
Wait, but that's...
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okay, well. rondo's going to take ashlyn from mathis before things get immediately bad, readjusting his axe and. idk its fantasy don't worry about it but he's getting her up and on his back when the others start to react, too. rondo turns his head to follow everyone else's gazes.
it's - just as jarring, just as awful. maybe seeing a listless karlach is the worst one, because it just feels so wrong. this is hell, right? and hell does things like this. hell makes you see your worst nightmares. and none of the people in this group should be here, none of them deserve something like this. rondo's breath catches, heart swooping in his chest, but it's ashlyn's struggling that starts to kick him into gear. he holds onto her a little tighter. ]
Wait - wait, wait, that's not - it's not real, they're not... [ real, he wants to finish, but the note comes back to mind, too. ] - Listen. Listen, if they're here, we might, we might be able to find them in that room, too.
[ save ALL the souls ]
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none of them respond to any calls, just milling about. they look tired. wrung out. like they're missing something, something important.
kanda walks right past lavi, slow, with no purpose. when he looks at lavi there's recognition for just a split second, and he stops. and then it's gone, and his gaze unfocuses again as he turns and walks away.
karlach sinks down to the ground, at stares up at the ceiling, listlessly. eyes blank. her tail twitches just a bit at the sound of her name, but nothing else. a little bit away from her, gale is standing with his hands tangled in his hair, murmuring to himself the same few words over and over again. it sounds like he's trying to remember the end to his sentence, but he can't quite get there.
aerith gently sways back and forth, holding a broom and humming to herself, broken up occasionally by little bouts of nonsense laughter. cloud stands in front of a portrait down the hallway, staring at it without seeing, hands twisting into his clothing.
they look real. they're not acting right, but - you read about the souls. some of you know what the hells are. it's not a huge leap.
anyway. what do you do?]
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exhale. ]
... Let's - come on. We can save them, too. If - if it is them, we can save them too. We have to keep going.
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right. rondo is right. they have to... if they keep going, maybe they can do something. if this hammer will let them help, perhaps they can help with their friends too.]
...all right. Um, then we should hurry.
[looking between the two remaining doors... splitting up again might help.
he's scooting more towards the sitting room because boy was that stuff about SOULS concerning, and he has. reasons to not want the other one.]
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and even if it is them - rondo is right. they need to accomplish their goals to be of any real help. ]
Okay. Okay, let's get moving.
[ i suppose if we split up again she's with rondo now. ]
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because it very well might not be, because monsters wearing the skins of humans they've just devoured, soul and all, are a super normal occurrence, and anyway, it seems a little too calculated to have this specific group here -- one that's garnered a reaction from each of them. he doesn't like it, and that's fine because they need to move on anyway,]
Rondo. Look for the hammer with Ashlyn. I'll go with Mathis to the sitting room.
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mathis and lavi head to the sitting room, rondo and ashlyn head to the pleasure room. one second, please hold as we split toplevels...]
PLEASURE ROOM
do you go inside?]
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... I feel like we should hold our breath...
[ this is not going to help anything. he adjusts his grip on ashlyn, mindful of her injuries, enough so he can get a hand free to rest on his brand new axe. just in case. he's gonna swing this one handed karlach be proud ]
Ready? [ he tilts his head back a little towards her, with a bit of a smile, though it's grim. ] If you see something that I don't, just pull on my hair or something. Let's go get that hammer.
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Got it. Let's finish this. [ it's tuesday. ]
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there's a very big pool in the middle of the room, which might be where the steam is coming from. it looks a little like a hot spring, or hot tub. imagine like a fairy fountain in zelda, where you walk down a little path and down into a puddle of water, only it's an in-ground hot tub. super enticing, very spalike. there's nobody in here, but there are soft floating lights here and there in the air, illuminating the place. you can hear soft music coming from somewhere.
also, it's surrounded by mirrors. all of the walls in this room are mirrors. do you keep going in?]
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this is... a lot. it's hot! it's sweaty. it's pretty! even rondo has absolutely zero trust of a single second of it. is there any indication as to where the...smells... are coming from...? are there any other people in here...? he will keep heading in, though not into the pool or anything, just walking forward with caution.
he does not talk because the last time he talked he got slapped with a silence but rondo mouths to himself... if i were a hammer... where would i be... ]
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the hot tub at least is not enticing to her, because she has a leg wound. and since rondo is doing the walking, she can really just focus on the usual: observing and listening closely for anything more than the music.
looking at all these mirrors... are they just normal mirrors? i don't trust you. ]
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SITTING ROOM
will you enter... do you knock first or just walk right in?]
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anyway, he'll knock on the door!! while also double checking the doorknob and any other fancy iron dishes that may need blood samples from either of them]
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but since lavi has knocking covered, mathis lingers close.
oh one thing he's doing before they hit this door up is if there's a spare broom he's going to like, steal the sweepy bit to tie to this staff of his and try to disguise it as a broom too. that way he's not wandering around with this stick for no reason and he can keep it close.
he's clutching it as he sticks close to lavi's side, nervous.]
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the knocker rings out heavily, and then, a tired sounding voice: ]
Come in! Did you bring that tea …
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Lavi glances at Mathis, trying to look as reassuring as possible, a 'we got this' sort of look that is operating purely on confidence here, but at least Mathis has his staff broom
and then he pushes the door open, and steps into the room. WHAT'S IN HERE!!! as for the tea question........]
Nope, sorry! Completely forgot.
[the first step to forging any new relationship............. Honesty]
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