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.]

Locations Villa Main Nav

Comments

[baebladie]

[ Not the Oz callout... ]

...

[ He increases his strides a bit more. But, other than that, doesn't bother to make it any more difficult. ]

Most of the ground floor.

Nothing of interest, besides the over extravagant nature of the garden. Even with everything else being very much the same. No indication of immediate hostiles so far.

[ He states this like giving a mission report. Because he's done those before... ]

[uiscebeatha]

It is kind of empty, isn't it? You'd expect more signs of life in a lavish mansion like this, but they don't even have servants...

[ They're kind of crucial to keep a place like this running. It's simultaneously lived in and empty. But not abandoned. It's weird, and he can't shake the feeling.

...Unless the mansion's serviced by magic. With his own meager abilities cut off, he doesn't have much to work with. Unless...

His head snaps up to Blade. ]

Hey, you know much about magic?

[baebladie]

I would.

[ No indication of henchmen. But clearly they were awaiting somewhere - or perhaps there is an immense lack of them. Blade doesn't even see a single shred of evidence of people around. There's something else about it, though he can't quite...grasp the thought.

Regardless, he turns towards Cain when he asks the question. ]

...Magic exists in my world in various forms.

Why ask?

[ Blade's questioning is short to the point, but he figures Cain is angling to deliver an observation of some kind...maybe. ]

[uiscebeatha]

[ It's fine, this is language he's used to. Though he's still friendly and sunny, his tone is relaxing (?) into something more militaristic to match. ]

My magic's been severely dulled since coming here. I can't seem to sense anything in particular.

If the manor's serviced by magic instead, there could be signs. Have you seen any?

[baebladie]

[ Blade has experienced all kinds in his long life...though, even if his memories are foggy at times, militaristic's the most familiar. ]

No. I only have suspicions.

[ With the bright, nice, and all the beautiful decor. Even the weapons look pretty. But, he should probably mention something else too: ]

...I don't sense anything either. The hampering of capabilities must be purposeful.

[uiscebeatha]

Yeah. [ It's sickening. Cain's starting to have only negative correlations with lavish decor like this. Fucking Westerners!!! ] They took my sword, too...

[ That's the greatest crime here. ]

What suspicions do you have?

[baebladie]

[ Blade's expression about lack of sword says 'mood' for a literal second. He misses it. ]

Our kidnappers will try to get us off-guard.

Sweeten us up, with the decor.

Then, lead us to oblivion.

[ ...okay, that sure took a turn. But it sure is something!

The modus operandi seems far too gentle to replicate the borisin, but there is a subconscious memory, and a certain kind of association - along with his fractured reasoning. ]

[uiscebeatha]

[ Too bad Cain's too busy eyeing tapestries to notice the look. Oh well!

But Cain's own expression twists a bit in a way that suggests that, too, is a bit too familiar of a situation for his liking. ]

This again...

[ They got out of it fine last time. But this time?

His gaze snaps to Blade again. ]

Hey, I've got an idea. What villa are you in?

[baebladie]

[ Blade's more observant of his current talking companion than his aloofness might suggest - and the fact that he seems to indicate a familiarity with this type of situation is notable. ]

...Tulip.

Why? And what do you mean "this again"?

[ Blade does want some clarification on that.

So, you know, there is an extra question in there. ]