Pavo Heart Game: Saturday 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.]

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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

[childecoded]

[ "What a shame that would be...."

Childe— "Ace"— immediately notices as he wakes up that his Vision is gone. Of course he does, it's been as much a part of him as his own flesh since he'd got it. Grasping the power it offered, the opportunity to become stronger...

He doesn't have time for that now. Not when he's-- somewhere. A place he doesn't recognize, though he can hazard a guess or two. But for now, it seems like there's motions he has to go through before he can start exploring. ]

Sure, what is it?

[ His tone is calm, casual. Unless you know him very well, you might not realize the sharp attention he's paying to every detail, every movement. ]

Re: START: KNIGHTS' HQ

[cryovision]

[The knight looks a bit 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.

[one_note]

[inclines his head politely, as outwardly cool about being in a totally unfamiliar building without his powers and defenses as one could hope to be]

Of course. What is needed?

[cryovision]

[The knight bows slightly, returning your own politeness, 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

[latelekar]

[where the fuck ARE we. There's a brief moment of almost-panic as Altruism looks around to make sure--alright, no, this isn't Vesuvia, not enough gaudy portraits of some blond asshole around, but the tidiness is not much less disconcerting. As is being approached.]

"Respectable"? My, you have just met me. And what might this process be?

Re: START: KNIGHTS' HQ

[cryovision]

[The knight looks a bit 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.

[one_note]

[well, uh, he certainly has a child now

shuts the blue door behind them decisively and sets him down to check on him]

[cryovision]

[He seems relatively okay, other than wearing tattered old clothes and shivering.

It's warmer here, though. He looks confused and concerned, but he's getting his bearings, and looking up at you with wide eyes. The right, the one usually covered by adult Pavo's eyepatch, is nothing but a black void.]

Why did you do that?

[one_note]

[tries Elemental Sight on this room immediately, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose]

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

[latelekar]

[WELL normally he would go snoopin', but unfortunately there's someone else here and he likely wouldn't get away with it. Oh well. Raising a hand to his forehead in a lazy salute.]

Good day, my lady! Oh, just a very simple something - I was asked to open the lock on the front door.

SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

[cryovision]

You enter a small room. It appears, on first glance, to have been some kind of light security holding cell, judging by the size and the one small, barred window. However, it's nothing like a prison now. The walls are covered in shelves full of toys and storybooks, there's a plush rug over the floor and a very nice cot piled in fluffy blankets.

Across the floor are scattered crayon drawings and open books. On one wall, there is a rack of weapons -- mostly swords. A few miscellaneous items are piled in corners, and there are paper flowers strewn about.

A small girl is lying on the floor, drawing. When you come in, she looks up with a big sunny smile!

"Oh, hi! Are you here to help with Klee's new treasures?"

Re: SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

[childecoded]

[ Oh, it's.... a child? That's unexpected.... a little disappointing too, but he won't let that show on his face as he smiles at her. ]

I sure am. What kind of help do you need?

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

[childecoded]

[ Ace takes a moment to admire the scenery. ]

Hmmm... it's quite lovely.

[ The stars and even the wreckage itself... both are equally beautiful in his eyes. ]

Well, there's that advice but.....

[ It's not that he's oblivious to the fact Pavo doesn't like him— well, that's not true. Pavo doesn't like the other guy, but they do in fact share more than a few similarities. So he knows the advice may or may not cause trouble.

That's half the fun.

But it's also not the only thing in here. So before he deals with that, he's going to see how many of those ceiling pieces he can collect. ]

Re: THE SEA OF STARS

[latelekar]

[Well, this is certainly a lot more like a normal person room! Compared to the maze, at least, so he's glad for that, and--oh, there's someone here too, huh.]

Er... Are you doing renovations?

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

[childecoded]

[ ....Well, isn't that interesting! He's going to head for the counter first and sit on a stool next to Pavo. ]

What are the recommendations here?

Re: ANGEL'S SHARE

[childecoded]

[ Alright, he's back here! ....And immediately using his elemental sight to check the place out. ]

[one_note]

[oh god, a bar, this was a mistake]

Noctua?

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.]

[one_note]

[he's treating this like a night-hunt, a bit, so he averts his gaze from the reflections as best as he can; he doesn't want to fall uner illusion, or possession, or any of the other things he associates with a phenomenon like that.

is it possible to lift himself up high on an ice column to get a better overview? or is the maze too fucky for that]

[one_note]

[pertinent question: does the shadow come for his ass the moment he's back in the maze]

Re: ICE MAZE

[latelekar]

[Hmmm! Sure looks fun! There's something... well, not familiar as such about it, but there is something. Altruism isn't sure if it's because of the ice or the maze or something else, but...

Glancing quickly at his own reflection before looking away. He's actually not super keen on seeing how twisted this weird definitely magic ice is going to make him.]