Pavo Heart Game: Monday Session

[cryovision]

When you enter the light, you find yourself hovering weightless in a void, as if caught in a moment of falling inertia. In the distance, you hear a voice that seems to shift and twist, familiar and yet unfamiliar.

"You shouldn't be here. But since you already are, let's make a wager. If you can uncover the truth, you'll find me. If you can't, you may be hopelessly lost... What a shame that would be."

You begin falling, and your vision blacks out--

[OOC NOTE: your goals are "reveal the truth" to "find the true heart". All images in toplevels are for general inspo, please make sure you read the flavourtext cause things are not exactly as they are in the images.]

Comments

START: KNIGHTS' HQ

[cryovision]

When you wake, you find yourself standing in an official-looking hall. Any weapons or items you had on you are gone, and any powers are turned off. Everything here is neat and tidy, perfectly spaced, plants healthy and green and all the same size, paintings perfectly level with one another.

Here and there on the walls there are mirrors.

There are five possible exits:

- A sturdy wooden door bearing an insignia.
- A red door that occasionally rattles.
- A stone-framed door with reinforced hinges, which lets off a pleasant warmth.
- A blue door with a metal knob that's ice cold to the touch.
- A set of stairs leading upwards.

There is a double-wide door behind you that seems like it should go outside, but it appears to be sealed shut.

A knight with an unremarkable face approaches you, carrying a few ornate metal boxes.

"Welcome, strange yet respectable guests. I understand you might want to get to exploring, but there's a process we have to follow, so could you give me a moment of your time?"

Re: START: KNIGHTS' HQ

[overworker]

[Strange yet respectable, huh...?

Exploring can wait a minute. It might be important.]

Oh... of course. What is it?

Re: START: KNIGHTS' HQ

[cryovision]

[The knight looks a little nervous, but he stays friendly! He laughs awkwardly, and offers you one of the boxes.]

Guests are to be given these gift packages. They're things you may have lost, somewhere... hopefully they're useful.

Re: START: KNIGHTS' HQ

[gravitydefier]

[he's certainly never been to Mondstadt before, so this is completely new.]

Tch. What is it?

[to the point, as ever. also staying out of arm's reach of the knight because seriously, stop getting near him.]

Re: START: KNIGHTS' HQ

[cryovision]

[The knight looks a bit intimidated, but he stays friendly! He laughs awkwardly, and offers you one of the boxes.]

Guests are to be given these gift packages. They're things you may have lost, somewhere... hopefully they're useful.

Re: START: KNIGHTS' HQ

[outofoffice]

[ Well . . . how nostalgic!!! ]

"Strange yet respectable," that's me! What do you need?

Re: START: KNIGHTS' HQ

[cryovision]

[The knight seems to ease up a bit in the face of your cheerfulness! He laughs awkwardly, and offers you one of the boxes.]

Guests are to be given these gift packages. They're things you may have lost, somewhere... hopefully they're useful.

Re: START: KNIGHTS' HQ

[outofoffice]

[ Bursting through the blue door with a tiny Pavo bundled up on his back.

He skids to a halt on the tile floor. ]

--Whew!!! That was close.

Re: START: KNIGHTS' HQ

[cryovision]

It was.

[Tiny Pavo is pumped up on adrenaline too, but at least he's not being shy and cold anymore??? Instead he's getting down from Venti's back and checking him for injuries.]

Did it get you?

OFFICE

[cryovision]

You enter a well-decorated office. The atmosphere is pleasant, cozy, with walls lined in bookshelves and a scent in the air like spiced vanilla. Around the room are vases full of various coloured roses.

On one side of the room is a desk, with a small number of papers spread across it and a quill pen and inkwell. On the other is a conference table, currently hosting a western-style tea set and some plates of small cakes and cookies.

On one bookshelf, there is a statuette of a small winged figure draped in robes and holding an orb out as if in offering to the sky.

There is an open window, through which comes a brisk breeze -- it smells a bit stale, and seems to have blown the flowers and books right off of a nearby table.

Browsing the books, there is a tall blonde woman. When you enter, she turns to look at you and gently smiles.

"Good afternoon. Can I help you?"

Re: OFFICE

[outofoffice]

[ Cheerfully, as he kicks the door in while carrying a flummoxed child: ]

Hello, Acting Grandmaster! Is this a bad time?

Re: OFFICE

[cryovision]

Not at all. It's good to see you, B̸̹͔̹͒͌̏a̴̲̳̚r̶̀͜b̶̤̒a̸͓͆͒t̵̩̝̜̊͂o̶̼̼̞̾͑s̶͖̞͎̽.

[The name is garbled static but somewhere in your mind you know it's yours.]

I see you've brought a visitor... I'm sorry, but I don't know if that's a good idea.

[tiny Pavo whines:]

I told you!

Re: OFFICE

[overworker]

Ah-- hello!

[Celes bends to pick up the flowers and books up off the floor and set them back up nicely on the table.]

Sorry, I hope I'm not intruding.

Re: OFFICE

[cryovision]

Not at all. You're an important friend to "me", so you're always welcome here.

[Her smile is warm, and she bows a little in greeting as Celes picks up the books.

...The wind immediately blows them back over though.]

THE SEA OF STARS

[cryovision]

You enter some sort of planetarium. It's a beautiful room with a domed ceiling covered in stars, with a floor made up of one giant marble compass rose.

However, it seems something has been tearing this beautiful room apart. The ceiling is half pulled down, the pieces scattered across the floor like an ugly jigsaw puzzle. The bare ceiling behind the stars is rough, plaster-caked stone, and there's dust all over everything. The curved walls seem to have once been covered in velvet curtains, but a few of them have been torn down and lie strewn across the floor.

Near one wall, there is a ladder.

Along one half of the room there are seats, plush and comfy. The ones more towards the right are dusty and only look up at the ruined ceiling, but the ones on the left are cleaner. At the very far left, there is a pile of downed curtains.

In the center of the room, there is a jumble of alchemy equipment, tended to by a handsome young man who is completely and utterly ignoring you.

Re: THE SEA OF STARS

[gravitydefier]

[what, did you think he was going to try to talk to someone, especially someone who is ignoring him? no, that's ideal, and he's going to head for the ladder.]

Re: THE SEA OF STARS

[cryovision]

[It is a regular ladder. It's tall enough to allow you to reach the ceiling, and a bucket of fresh new plaster hangs from a hook at the top.]

Re: THE SEA OF STARS

[overworker]

[hit the switch and run, he says

of course it's a planetarium

.............................

She scans the room for the switch.]

Re: THE SEA OF STARS

[cryovision]

[It might take a bit of looking, but this one's not extremely hard to find. It's on one of the walls!

The boy continues his work, but he does glance up at you as you look, a few times.]

ANGEL'S SHARE

[cryovision]

You walk through the door and find yourselves in a bustling tavern. Patrons fill most of the available seats, and the air is filled with the smell of alcohol and sizzling chicken mushroom skewers. The atmosphere is jovial, party-like, welcoming, and the walls are covered in various framed pictures. Here, a painting of a crackling flame. There, a drawing of a lioness dozing in lush grass.

Tending bar is a stoic-faced man with fluffy red hair that you may recognize as a fellow fairyhell resident. Sitting and drinking with him is Pavo himself.

Re: ANGEL'S SHARE

[overworker]

[Oh. How nice...

Looking around, she does see the two of them-- and it makes her smile. But first... she wants to see these pictures on the walls.]

Re: ANGEL'S SHARE

[outofoffice]

[ WELL WELL WELL

Waving cheerfully, tiny Pavo and all ]

Fancy meeting you two here--!

ICE MAZE

[cryovision]

You find yourself in a frozen wasteland. The exit you just came through stands as an ornate stone arch, but there are no walls or other manmade structures in this area. There's only a storm-dark sky and the endless, jagged maze of ice. The slight breeze is painfully cold and dry and the ice creaks ominously.

There is nothing immediately apparent to interact with, except your reflections in the ice immediately near you, which distort like in a funhouse mirror. You have a deep sense of foreboding, and yet the maze beckons.]

Re: ICE MAZE

[outofoffice]

[ His eyes narrow slightly at the biting cold.

Nostalgic, in a bad way. ]

My. Last I checked, the Knights weren't hiding this in their castle.

[ He steps forward, into the maze. ]

Re: ICE MAZE

[gravitydefier]

[so that's an even more distorted reflection.

and just...going forward.]