Mesdames et Messieurs, Voilà, C'est Vous

[lesmodsalouette]

Bievenue

You're wrapped in a soothing, all-encompassing darkness.

Well, perhaps not perfectly all-encompassing -- you can see some slivers of light here and there, just enough to realize that your current space is literally wrapped in something, and that you are a highly customized burrito at the mercy of an entirely too fluffy bed and set of blankets. Moreover: you are definitely not alone.

Depending upon the contents of your bed (two of you, waking up dressed exactly in what you wore last you remember back where each of you came from, in the exact same state as those last moments no matter how illogical or disjointed), it may not be comfortable or feasible to stay cocooned up for much longer. There's a low, muted GONG, GONGG coming from not far away, your bed creaks like a beleaguered ship in an unannounced storm, and it is joined by even more noises of movement beyond the bed canopy as you try to take stock of where you are.

Eventually, you either fall out of bed or drag yourself into this world: your new and strangely crowded personal rooms, the clock insistently sounding out the hour, and the halls and heraldry of the venerable Château Ambregris -- a lavishly decorated and fully furnished version of a more-or-less authentic French castle (assuming you know what France or a castle are).

Left to your own devices for the moment, you may find it helpful to explore the castle for your own purposes, check out the suspicious statues and personalized plaques in the Promenade of Reflexion, or perhaps to try to get to the bottom of the mysterious and frankly alarming amount of bread piled up in front of the place settings in the Banquet Hall. (Were you thinking of escaping? Any attempts to leave the property will be met with no forward progress at all, treadmill style). There's just about every kind of loaf, roll, boule, baguette, croissant or even animal-shaped bread you can think of stacked in baskets. There's absolutely nothing else save for plain bread, but at least you won't starve.

[OOC: Welcome to Château Ambregris, a perfectly normal castle receiving perfectly normal guests. Feel free to ask any questions in discord! The NPC Meet & Greet will be later today, March 8 at 6 PM EST/3 PM PST.]

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[arbalestrier]

[Even after G'raha does his introduction, Sousuke keeps the gun trained on the other man for a little longer before lowering it.]

Why did you come here?

[Somehow it's now an impromptu interrogation...]

[allrounder]

[ Ah and now he's being interrogated... this is fine, surely.

What matters is that the gun is lowered, so his shoulders relax. ]

To get my bearings. I presume that is the reason you're here as well.

[arbalestrier]

[Touché... He'll concede the point.]

Affirmative. I was also looking for information regarding our current location, but I found this room instead.

[You win some, you lose some...??]

[allrounder]

[ At least now they have ways to defend themselves, but... surely that means their captors do too. ]

'Tis quite the display of weaponry. I suppose this is not unusual in a dwelling of this size, but...

[ It does make him a bit uncomfortable. ]

[arbalestrier]

Is it?

[He’s never been in a castle like this, so he has no idea what one would consider normal.]

But I don’t understand. Why haven’t these weapons been replaced with modern equipment? Even a .38 Special would be preferable to arming yourself with a sword.

[g’raha: having so many weapons here is hm
sousuke: why don’t they have better weapons, the idiots]

[allrounder]

[ He's got his priorities right!!

Maybe. ]

Given the decor that surrounds us, I have my doubts that they're even in possession of firearms. Or rather, any particularly powerful ones.

[ While G'raha has no real clue what a .38 Special is, he's making a guess that it's gun related... he's come across firearms in passing and seen them for himself through Machinists, but how advanced they are has its limits. ]

[arbalestrier]

The decor?

[Sousuke puts a hand up to his chin as he considers G'raha's observation.]

I see. The furnishings are excessive and have no practical value in deterring intruders. In addition to that, there are multiple undefended entrances, including a room with a large window. The location of this armory is also unwise--if the enemy pursued, you'd be trapped like a rat.

[And that was only the beginning. He had yet to explore the rest of the rooms in the building. Who knows what other poor decisions were made in furnishing this castle??]

An owner that foolish couldn't possibly understand the tactical value of firearms, correct?

[The idea that guns could be illegal here doesn't even cross his mind.]

[allrounder]

Correct! The high volume of swords also suggests a desire to stray from the technological advancements of weaponry and keep towards more traditional methods of defense and offense.

[ He smiles. ]

Or, quite possibly, they do not have anything particularly advanced at all.

[ It reminds him of the contrast between Eorzea and the Garlean Empire. ]

You have an eye for strategy. Your observations give us an image of the sort of place we're in beyond weaponry.

[arbalestrier]

[Sousuke looks considering of the additional rationale G'raha provides--or at least, as considering as you can look with a perpetually blank expression.]

It was simple reconnaissance. Understanding the area of operations is crucial to planning effective countermeasures.

[Countermeasures for what? Don't worry about it.]

[allrounder]

Countermeasures?

[ His eyebrows furrow. Please don't mind him looking a little bit concerned. ]

Against our kidnapper, I hope.

[arbalestrier]

[Meanwhile, Sousuke seems oblivious to this concern. It's fine, he has it covered??]

Of course. But there may be other enemies in hiding. It seems unlikely this is a one-man operation, after all.

[allrounder]

That could very well be the case. Although, a powerful mage could accomplish much and more.

[ So G'raha isn't ruling that possibility out. ]