Day 1 Night

[12npcs]

[ Over the murmur of conversations, explorations and violent attempts at escape, there comes a sound tick tick tick tick tick.............. CLICK.... The sky above snaps across the dome from blue to black... and everything goes dark.

A glow comes from the front door of each of the inns and one by one, you can see street lanterns begin to light up steadily past each of the gates.

The only flickering, organic light comes from above in the tower, spluttering high, high above everyone, through the slats of the closed shutters. After a moment, it's gone. ]

Comments

[assworthsaving]

[Fair enough assumption, can't argue that, but this is a stretch. And despite wondering if this place, if everything, is real or not, he finds himself trying to make sense out of it anyway.

Not hearing from Sully is worrying but the old man can take care of himself and no one here seems hurt. Though the thought of Sully being lost unsettles him, anything they figure out might lead to him. Soon.]

Coins wouldn't explain all these other-- uh, people, either. [He gestures above him- the sky, the tower, clockwork people, buildings...] Or this. I'd say it had something to do with my line of work, but you got called a 'thief' too. And there's no way anyone I've pissed off is capable of pulling a stunt like this.

[tearsinnajar]

It's all pretty strange. There was this crazy old man puttering around earlier. He said that we broke in here, wrecked all his things, and stole something called a "twelve heart."

[assworthsaving]

[Well that cinched it. This definitely was no client of his. Though he was already convinced of that just from the rather elaborate setting.]

What the hell's a 'twelve heart'?

[tearsinnajar]

Your guess is as good as mine. He didn't explain anything, and then went into that great big tower there.

[Gestures at the tower behind her.]

[assworthsaving]

[He looks up at the tower... and then back at everyone standing around. Pretty good guess as to why everyone is standing around, but he'll ask anyway.]

So why are we standing out here, then? Let's go follow him. [Except he is still not sure any of this is real. He pauses.] Assuming, of course, we're both perfectly sane and not hallucinating any of this. Because that could still be a possibility.

[tearsinnajar]

It's already been tried. The robot ninja went after him, but he got caught up in some sort of booby trap.

[She takes a deep breath and shrugs]

So I don't think storming the castle will be very easy.

[assworthsaving]

[She had him up until the 'robot ninja' part. Now he's staring blankly at her.]

Wait, wait- back up. Did you just say robot ninja? And with a straight face. [Nodding.] Well. That answers that. I'm sane, you're not.

[tearsinnajar]

Nate, this whole experience has been insane.

[assworthsaving]

Yeah, it is. And I'm still not sure this isn't some kinda dream, or have something to do with Marlowe's goons.

[tearsinnajar]

[With a heavy sigh.]

Neither am I.

[assworthsaving]

Least we're on the same page, then. [His sigh matches hers and he starts pacing around- looking. And stops. Eyes falling to the ground, at his feet. He reconsiders.] But it-- it doesn't feel like we've been drugged. [He meets her eyes carefully, mentally grasping at straws.] And I've seen Marlowe's creepy hideout and unless she hired a different interior decorator, this isn't her style...

[The 'so what now?' is implied in his tone. Because while he concluded some time ago that neither of those explanations fit, he's not sure he is comfortable with accepting that this place is somehow real.]

[tearsinnajar]

Then this is the work of somebody else, and there has to be some explanation, no matter how twisted, for why they went to all this trouble.

[assworthsaving]

[Having only just come to, he's at a disadvantage. But there's no telling how long others have been awake... though it doesn't sound like long. Everyone else sounds just as confused around him.]

And you haven't heard anything? Exactly where we are, coordinates, an underground lair- nothing?

[tearsinnajar]

All I can tell is that we're boxed in. Even the sky is artificial. It's like we're in a theme park.

[assworthsaving]

[He snorts. Not a very fun theme park, either. But he starts racking his brain, the notion of this being more than what it is intriguing him.]

Theme park, huh. And this isn't even close to anything I've ever read about-- [As he speaks he inspects the nearest clockwork person, tapping on it thoughtfully.] Automatons have existed throughout history- ah, in legends, stories; King Solomon was said to have a throne of clockwork animals to help seat him. There's numerous accounts of anything from simple devices to more complex ones in ancient Greece, and some resembling humans; from people in ancient China to the Renaissance, to the early twentieth century. But nothing as elaborate as this- not some kinda artificial world. This is like something you'd read in a faery tale...

[tearsinnajar]

[A smile spreads across her face—this is definitely Nate, not some dream facsimile thereof. Most of that trivia was new to her.]

Fairy tale, huh? If only we had a trail of breadcrumbs.

[assworthsaving]

[Still poking and prodding the automaton, he chuckles under his breath. Whatever this is, real or not, if he starts going along with it then he'll either wake up or they can leave this place.]

Think we're going to need more than breadcrumbs. We need to find that 'twelve heart.' [He gestures at the tower.] 'Course it'd be a lot easier if this guy would come down and talk to us.

[tearsinnajar]

Yeah, that's what I was starting to figure. That might be the only leverage that will do anything for this guy.

[assworthsaving]

Well we're not accomplishing anything standing around here waiting. Let's go have a look around. Maybe we'll find some clues about where this 'heart' went. Or where Sully is.