Multiple Settings NoWhere. A Paradox Pocket Realm ( Open to Everyone )

[Folly-Derrezzed]

The door rang to alert the presence of a newcomer, and then the slamming of the door back into place, out of view from the lodge that the others reside in. The boards creaked as the thumping and wiring intensified. From around the corner, the glare of red light bounced off of the lamination of picture frames. From around the corner peaked what seamed somewhat of a modified space helmet, except what filled the darkness that was its visor was three red dots that dilated then expanded before the figure took the space in in the entrance. Its joints clicked and its head swiveled back and forth on its neck with the three dots jittering around on the void that made most of its recognizable visage. It entered the room, making a scratchy warbling that hardly qualifies as anything recognizable. It then seized, hunching over as a chrome mass began to seep from its back before gelatinizing into a feminine form.

It took the form of what appears to be a yellow anthropomorphized rabbit, every aspect of their design sharp and angular. From its sharp eyelashes and shark grin, the only thing that contrasted its appearance was its round, curious, eyes. It was clear that they are female. She climbed off of the machines back and waved. "Eyo!" She cheered, her bladed ears tilting to the side of her head. "We are new heh-here and was wondering if we could stay the night?" the rabbit asked politely with a soft, casual, tone. As if she had known everyone for years. Or rather, as if she knew how to maneuver social discourse as quickly as possible.

 

[Arkaeis]

Immediately as the bell rang once more Harquin's head swiveled on his neck and mildly curious eyes greeted the creature if it could be called that. His head tilted slightly at the request pondering why a machine would need to rest.
curious. Was the singular word that ran through his mind. From his seat atop the table he nodded in acknowledgement. "Absolutely, one is being arranged for you now. Will you require sustenance?" Asked Harquin trying to gauge just how organic this life-form that stood before him was. Dropping down to the floor once again he walked over to the attendant's desk and sprang onto the counter and perched there now lazily reciting the introduction that he gave the girls earlier. When he was finished he curled himself up waiting for the girls to finish what they were doing before he would oblige to play host and show them to their rooms.

 

[active_mind]

Mariah nodded, still holding her arm. She considered the vial, but she could see clearly now, and despite feeling a little weak, she was back to normal. She extinguished all her fire and sat back in the chair.

"I'm Mariah... tea sounds nice." Her expression softened a bit. It was pretty obvious that nobody in this area was going to hurt her. At least not right now. She looked at the cat, tilting her head curiously, then proceeded to look around at her surroundings. She loved the warmth of that fire. "You have a room with a fireplace?" She asked, turning towards the white cat.

PixelSymphony Arkaeis

 

[PixelSymphony]

"Okay, two cups of tea coming up!" Val announced with a smile, rising from her seat and making her way behind the bar. The machinery scattered about behind the counter was familiar enough to her (though one or two specialized devices eluded her understanding) but soon enough a small kettle of water was beginning to heat up, small wisps of vapor emanating from its spout as it reached its boiling point. As Val continued to search about for materials, she heard the bell from earlier ring and the front door bang open. Grabbing a small box of tea bags that she had just come across, she stood up and turned to the newcomers, with a "Oh hello-", only to stop and stare once she laid eyes upon the strange duo of machine and... thing. She blinked silently for a second, her eyes running up and down the two as she tried to figure out exactly what they were, before a forced "W-would you also care for some tea?" stumbled from her lips, her surprise still clearly evident.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she poured four cups of boiling water in a set of dull beige mugs that happened to be atop the bar counter, dunking bags in each in sequence before lifting two of them to take over to Mariah, offering a quick "pardon me for one second" of apology to the newest members of this motley crew as she went over to the girl. "I apologize," the demon said contritely as she held out one of the mugs to the recovering girl by the fire, taking the other for herself, "this was the only tea I could find without completely turning the cupboard completely upside down. Maybe one day in the future when I have a moment I can locate a better stock of leaves."

At the mention of room preferences, Val stopped her sip mid drink and quickly lowered her cup. "Oh! I-if room choices are amenable to you, um... w-would it be possible to have something, ah... y-you know," she wavered, bringing her hand downwards, "subterranean?"

 

[Folly-Derrezzed]

"Food?" She asked herself, rubbing the bridge of her snout before looking at herself. The rabbit thought to herself for a split second before shrugging. "Yeah, ill take whatever you got." She looked to the girl holding tea and her eyes seemed to laze as her shark grin cracked her face in a Glasgow-esque fashion. "Tea would be lovely." She followed the demon further into the lodge before sitting down in a lazy slouch. The machine stood behind her and began making electric stuttering noises followed by its floating plates folding out from behind it. The rabbit looked up to it and smiled normally. "No, we stay here. It's warm, yknow? Now just relax and dow..whatever.." She slurred, only sitting right to lean forward and take one of the offered mugs and swallowing all of the contents. She smacked her lips and began slouching once more. The machine just stared at her before looking at the figure in the fireplace, walking in a rattling march to get a better view.

Incomprehensible. A human being just sitting within the fireplace as if one would in a chair or on a matt. The dots on its visor seemed to rotate around one another as it observed the female thoroughly. The rabbit looked to the machine and seemed somewhat stunned. "Wow. Looks light you caught his fancy~." To which the machine responded to what could be perceived as a glare back at the lagomorphs direction. "Imma ask for him. How are you sitting there? Don't most humans as you kinda..cook? Or burn. Cook would imply that you'd be served for dinner." She said under a single breath, inhaling at the tail end of her statement.

 

[active_mind]

Mariah took the tea and nodded gratefully, sipping it. She saw the rabbit like creature and robotic type... thing out of the corner of her eye, but she did not comment. She was beginning to accept that this was no ordinary place, and she was sure there were going to be much stranger things and creatures to see in the future.

She idly touched the fire in the fireplace, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She hadn't felt so warm for weeks. She almost felt like a part of that fire. It flared, her eyes turning red as she controlled it, letting it strengthen and weaken, then, she put her hand against the cup of tea, the heat of it causing it to boil. She gulped it down.

Mariah listened to the rabbit's question, shooting a glare at it. "I'm no ordinary human, in case you haven't noticed." She shot a weak finger of fire at the rabbit's feet lazily, extinguishing it quickly. "Fire can't affect my body. Otherwise I'd cauterize this gash."

 

[PixelSymphony]

As Val'sharra returned to drinking her tea, glad for the warmth it brought to drive away the clamminess from outside, her ears caught hold of what the strange rabbit creature noted about Mariah. "Burn?" she quietly repeated, looking over to the other girl out of curiosity. Indeed, she did seem to be sitting awfully close to the fire, visible flickers of flame very nearly touching her arms and legs as she reached out with them towards the fire. Not long after, that "nearly" became "actually" as Mariah plunged her arm square into the fireplace in demonstration of her abilities, Val's eyes shooting open in surprise. "I... ah... huh. I... don't know why I didn't expect that," she admitted to the girl's declaration of uniqueness. "I've not exactly been surrounded by normal things since I got here, but, I guess it just never crossed my mind!" She gave a weak laugh to herself, then as it died, went back to carefully drinking her tea.

 

[Folly-Derrezzed]

"Hey! You and me the same, sister. Never saw a human--a real human--plunge their arm into flame. Mostly because, well, they are boring. Yknow." She furrowed her brow and sneered to lick her teeth free from teabag cloth. She sighed and blew some stray locks of hair from out of her vision. "Sooo...names. Mines Nana, created it myself. I know, I'm a genius. I named the metal dude back here because he kept referring himself as a number." She started, shifting in her seat once again to throw her legs over the armrest.

Tin-Tin spoke in reverb in response to the rabbit, with its eyes jittering around before lowing its gaze to her. It then cocked its head before staring soullessly at Val'Sharra. Its eyes rotated clockwise in the void that is its visor. The plates behind its head shifted before flattening behind its head. It then began its move out of the lodge, towards the desk that the host. The sound of its rattling footsteps faded out for the rest of the group, only leaving the females for their discourse.

 

[active_mind]

Mariah rolled her eyes at the rabbit and sighed quietly. "As I said, I'm Mariah." She looked toward Val'sharra. "Can I just call you Val?" She asked the demon girl.

Mariah grabbed her torn jacket and incinerated it in her hands, since it was useless in shreds, then she looked back at the one called Nana. "You know, in the human world, they would have torn you apart by now. They almost got to do that to me. It's strange, but I feel safer here, surrounded by unknown people and places than I do at home." She absently looked at her cup, staring at the strange designs on it.

PixelSymphony
Folly-Derrezzed

 

[PixelSymphony]

Val'sharra sat in awkward silence as the machine-based organism stared straight at her with its triplet of eyes. For her part, she tried to remain calm as it began what she only only imagine as its visual analysis on her, its rotating lights seeming to drill into the demon's very being. And then just as abruptly, it had left the bar area, leaving Val bewildered as to what had just happened. "Um... is everything okay with your friend, Nana?" the demon asked quietly, her eyes still fixated on the doorway it had passed through upon its exit.

She gave a small sigh and a shake of her head as she turned back. "Oh, names... um, r-right, uh, so I guess I said this earlier but I'm Val'sharra, but Val is a lot easier for most people to say, so, you know... that's fine." She blushed slightly, a reddish tinge markedly contrasting with her alabaster toned skin. "N-not that I'm saying that's a bad thing! I even call myself that! S-so please call me Val!" She quickly lifted her tea cup to her lips, very nearly appearing to try to hide behind it while she waited to hear about what Mariah was saying to Nana.

 

[Folly-Derrezzed]

"Mmmmariah. And Val." She mumbled to herself, squinting off into the distance while scratching the fur on her chin. Her brow raised as Val inquired of her brother, looking to the doorway and back at the seemingly normal human. "Yeah, he does that at times when he senses something. Despite his mechanical nature, he has this strange...sixth sense when people are hiding something, or when reality is being altered." She shrugged, before cackling maniacally. "Or maybe he has a particular interest in you~." Nana cheered in a sing-song tone to tease Val, her ears flopping around with her movements. "Vals a name, that's for sure. In my culture, we forge our own names through our accomplishments." She leaned forward, smiling enthusiastically. Nana had always enjoyed asking personal questions. Fun to see drama in people's eyes. She got up and walked to the bar, cruising through the selection of brandies, liquors, and whatever else was stacked on the dark wood shelving. "How did you get your names? I hear that most organic races name their spawn. I find it strange. Brother always encourages leaving behind previous conceptions when traveling, however. So. Yknow. Whatever." She pulled down a strange glass purple bottle that is shaped in a double helix that is corked at one end. Reading "Calus Trusted" on snow-white paper that is attached by a thread. She looked at it peculiar and popped the cork off with her thumb that she shifted into a screw. In a squeak, she sniffed the contents before eating the entire thing. The glass crunched in her mouth. "That's the good stuff. Emperor honey. So, in the human world, I would be taken apart? I came from the human world! Well, sorta, after it was kinda mechanized." She grumbled the last sentence and struts towards the fireplace, leaning against the stone rim. "They did try and take me apart. Stretched me out...so I ate them and escaped." She chuckled, grinning as if she were proud of herself.

 

[Arkaeis]

Keen eyes fixated themselves on the machine that arrived before him, red orbs brightly glowing from beyond his covered Visage. The cat lazily rolled over, his head slightly hanging off of the ledge, he continued to study the features of why lay before him as though it were something familiar rather than foreign.

A gentle yawn escaped from him and he repositioned himself now curling up on the counter he started to groom his forepaws.

"You're quite curious as to how you were brought here, aren't you?" Harquin noted, stating the obvious, he addressed the machine.

"This place is unlike any of the worlds you've come across, of that i can assure you. " Harquin said in a soft voice reflecting on his own time there.

 

[Folly-Derrezzed]

Its eyes shrank to small pinpricks of red ghostly energy. It shook its head, creating the same reverb its made before with some variety to pitch. It was low, almost condescending. It didn't seem to be fazed by a talking cat. It placed its hands on the desk, the wood creaking under its weight. The lights in its visor blinked about three times before it spoke. "Room." It said, with reverb heavily underlying its voice and echoed. It must mean about the rooms available to the tenants. Whatever will do, as Nana said. Unlike any world that this machine has encountered? Unlikely. There is always a fundamental principle. A rule. Even now, it can see the numbers that shaped reality. That shaped this world. Yet somehow, it couldn't access them. Some points, its like the numbers just...fades away from its fingertips. As if these numbers were intelligent. It focused back into the real world, back on the cat. The numbers still blurred.

One thing the creature was correct about is the fact it couldn't comprehend its arrival here. In fact...it couldn't remember certain events previous to the arrival of this place of uncertainty. And why bring us here? To test us? To fix something? It wouldn't know the answer to these questions. But it will seek them out. Aggressively.

 

[Arkaeis]

Harquin was unphased by the machines demeanor towards him and he just idly continued licking right paw. It was plainly evident that the robot was getting impatient so Harquin obliged. "There are no key's for you here, but luckily you don't need them." He said between lazy licks, his tail arched up in almost a cartoonish fashion and pointed towards a set of double doors that were opposite the entryway across the foyer from the bar entrance. "Just go through those doors, and you will be sure to find your way." Harquin explained pausing from his ritual.

 

[active_mind]

A mechanized human world? Is it possible that somehow these people around her had come from different times as well as places? Mariah was overwhelmed by the idea of such a thing. She felt safe, then scared. Sure, then uncertain. What the he'll was going on.

She watched the conversation between the robot and cat, then looked towards the large double doors. Her eyes widened. She stood, exceedingly curious. Slowly walking towards the open doors, she stopped.

"Where does this go?" She felt a strange aura surrounding the door.

 

[PixelSymphony]

"My name? Uh... well..." Val's words were shaky as she responded to the lagomorph, and her eyes began to dart around the room, looking anywhere except at the person she was talking to. Thankfully for her anxiety, Mariah's movement caught her attention, and her focus shifted to watching her get up and stare into the entrace hallway, before eventually walking into it. Eager for any excuse not to finish her sentence, Val also stood, creeping towards the threshold to the entryway to peek out at what was going on.

 

[Arkaeis]

At the attention his comment had garnered he sat up, his tail twitching with mild amusement at he watched the robot go towards the doors. As the human got nearer he motioned to her with a raised paw as if telling her to be patient with her turn. "Don't worry ma'am, I'll show you and the rest of the our more patient guests to your rooms immediately after this good sir finds his own." Harquin stated in a mildly gleeful tone. "Besides, you won't want to miss what happens next." He said in a way that made you aware he was smiling.

 

[Folly-Derrezzed]

The machine began walking from the opposite end of the room, its footsteps rattling in rhythm as it approached the double doors, and opening them without hesitation. The hinges creaked. Its eyes jittered. It didn't seize for a moment, taking a step past the doors boundary line. What laid behind the doors what seemed to be an infinitely changing dimension of geometric columns and blue oceans that laid still at what could be the ceiling of the impossibly deceptive machine scape. Floating structures littered the free space and energy flowed from them, prickling on the skin of the living. Organic. ana gasped excitedly as she sprinted past everyone to see what laid in front of them. There was no floor and what became of the boundary line of the doorway is now a dead cliff. An edge into the warped reality that is.."Just like earth! Wow, they even got the blue matter pipes! Feels like...home.." She said somberly before closing her eyes and diving headfirst into the abyss. Her physical form melted away into a mass of chrome liquid that began writhing around the gravity-free space that is the replica of a machine world.

Tin-Tin dived off of the edge of the doorway and began to float freely, its visor slowly dimming out as its body stiffened. The doors began to shut out the sight of the brass colored mechanical pillars. Blue light glinted through the cracks. And then it shut, leaving the next tenant. The silence that draped the foyer was immense. Deafening. Whoever was tenacious enough to cling to causality would find themselves bewildered. Bitter or stimulated beyond themselves. Beyond what laid the definition of reality.

 

[Arkaeis]

As soon as the doors shut Harquin found his way to the front of the party now sitting nearly three feet away from the doorway that had just closed behind the peculiar pair from an alternative earth. He stood on all fours eyes circling the room meeting each of his patron's gaze and holding it for a moment before interjecting with a question. "Are you ready to be shown to your rooms?" Harquin asked amidst the obvious shock caused by the scene that had just taken place before them. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself, though he couldn't blame them either, as he too reminisced on the first time he laid eyes on this particular feature of the Haven.
"(edit)"
At that precise moment when the two girls stood there in awe of what had just occurred once again the now familiar ring of the bell indication yet another new patron rang clearly through the air. It was enough to startle Harquin slightly in a very-feline like manner, as quickly as his ears flattened they sprang back up again to greet whomsoever entered the Haven, not to be rude to those accompanying he motioned towards the newcomer with bright eyes and stated in a warm tone.

"Someone will be with you shortly good Sir, if you would please wait in the bar." Harquin explained in his usual tone that flowered with hospitality. HE redirected his attention back towards the girls as he awaited their responses.

 

[PixelSymphony]

Val'sharra stepped forward in awe, the corners of her cloak flapping open just slightly as she rushed towards the doors she had just seen close. "Portals are one thing... I've certainly seen no shortage of them being created by Holy technomancers, but..." She turned from the door to face the cat. "Was... was that room just completely willed into existence just for those two? I can't imagine any one else even vaguely wanting a room like that!" In excitement, she glanced back at the door, then eagerly whispered. "What would mine look like? Would it ha- no I can't ask, I have to see it, please let me see it!"

 

[Arkaeis]

"Be my guest." Harquin responded in his usual upbeat tone, and as he did the room she so desired would appear before her as the double doors opened seemingly with a mind of their own appearing beyond them was...

 

[PixelSymphony]

When the doors opened, with the same slow metallic creak as before, suddenly the visage had changed utterly and completely. The dizzying violation of spacetime that was the geometric and infinite space suddenly became level and depth. Dim pink light filled the room as the middle was crowned by a victorian style queen-sized bed, a thin black cloth veiling the top of the centerpiece. Overstuffed blankets and pillows were spread neatly on the thick mattress, awaiting the restless sleeper that would be the demon. It had a heavy gothic theme to it, what with the black furniture and nightstand that shouldered each side of the bed. The bedroom was heavily decorated with drawings of her own artistic prowess, Halloweeny bats hanging off of posts, and piles of laundry all bunched in the corner. The corners of the bedroom were converted to workstations, with a desk tucked tightly against the wall and a small Pixar-like lamp stamped at the edge with fuzzy black and red boa necklaces draped over the lamps shade.

A corkboard hung on the hot pink walls, with papers thumbtacked onto them. It was all blank, a template pulled directly from the demon's mind. And with that, the shutter slide-door closet would open to reveal a weapons locker as well as a variety of semi-professional outfits, all in a very dark color palette. And in the very back of the closet, a pink neon pentagram sign would bathe everything it touched in wonderfully saturated light. It was very strangely coordinated, almost seemingly at odds with itself, but there was no other way she would ever want it.

"By the fates... it's... perfect," she gasped, very nearly tearing up as she stepped into her new room. "I... I don't know what to say... I... I guess thank you, and... I bid you all a good night, and hope to see you in the morning." She closed the doors behind her gently, and with that, she was alone in a world of her own creation.

 

[Arkaeis]

In an instant no sooner than the moment the door closed behind her a sudden swirl of mist sprang forth from beneath her feet. It ebbed and flowed expanding at such an alarming rate that one's own nerves might shutter at the scene. It wasn't long until her form was once again completely engulfed by the density of the fog and as such the room became lost to her.

The silence around her was now so thick that sound would seem a foreign concept in such a place, as before like one would do if they were shifting between dreams she became acutely aware of the sound of her heart beating. Suddenly the same sound broke the silence once more and a gust of wind that came from above her blew back the surrounding mist to reveal what looked like a starlit sky yet it was below her; expanding ever outward. The floor itself felt solid, something harder than stone yet eyes could not detect it nor did it make a sound when stepped on underfoot. All that could be seen was what appeared to be the swirling of galaxies far below. unbeknownst to the rest of the realm another presence existed here that meant the realm itself harm.

As the mist cleared away with swirling dervishes, it revealed levitating orbs of light oscillating above ancient behemoth dazzling opal pillars that lit a room of immense capacity. Like a museum it had order and design every few meters there was either a pedestal, or a case, or a bookshelf each adorned with mystical and obscure looking objects, weapons, scrolls, books and bewildering artifacts each inviting a curious on-looker to admire their exhibition. All arranged in a methodological fashion that would make her come to believe that she was standing in some sort of warehouse or private grand-collection. The only reference point she had to orient herself in this grand hall of relics was the wooden door that was open behind her which lead back into the walk-in closet that she had been so excited about just a moment before. Without taking another step, an ocular anomaly seemed to bend space not a foot in front of her until what appeared to be a floating mirrored orb appeared. From it dropped a golden magnifying glass which levitated, vibrating into existance it floated in air in front of her. At the end of the handle of the magnifying glass one would notice that it was shaped like an old skeleton key and upon the glass were etched the words "The Reliquary".
something powerful was taken
(reward post- for completing "The Game's Afoot" easter egg.
Private room access granted to the Reliquary- great hall of Artifacts) the realm grows more dangerous

 

[Lord0fFate]

Gasp* I wake up suddenly finding myself in a blank state of thought with my back on a hard damp surface, as I look around turning my head side to side... all I see is fog and... more fog, oh and a lone lamp-post.

I slowly raise myself up sitting with my legs crossed trying to recollect my thoughts and... I frantically pat myself and the ground around me! "Aw man, that apple pie that Ms. Wallop baked is gone!" I slump over disappointedly eventually regaining the will to stand up saying to myself "Where am I? I swear if this another one of your trick's Sir Lothren I am for sure to light your fortress ablaze! You will pay for Ms. Wallop's pie!" I shouted yet all I heard was an echo.

I sighed, eventually taking a better look around my surroundings I see that I am standing in the middle of a roadway, a rather unkempt one, there's no signs! And there's nothing but fog! Ugh... I look down by my feet and I see my staff laying on the ground, I lean down taking it up to my body leaning on it as I slowly make wayward to what feels like north, I'm not sure... it's the only road from this intersection that doesn't look too... spooky.

After some time I find myself standing in front of an inconspicuous looking building, could it be an Inn? I spot a little light gleaming from the windows 'Civilization at last' I think to myself. 'Now I just have to go in without looking like a confused fool, oh surely I jest myself, I don't even know where I am!' I kick my feet forward and hold my breath as I make my way into the building... it's warm inside... nonetheless without intent of drawing attention to myself... a talking cat... comes up to me with a greeting welcome as he ushers me over to a barstool. Without saying much of anything I politley do so as I put my hands together leaning my elbows on the bar table.

 

[Folly-Derrezzed]

A short figure tacked against the wooden floors with black heels, wearing what seemed to be a classic maid outfit. Her dress was moth-eaten and smelled of lavender, with discoloration around the thin frills of her dress and yellowing at the collar. The figure in question was no taller than five feet, and oddly enough had a spiked hairdo and cowl resting in between two peaks in their hair. Their eyes were small and beady, skin being off-white. They smiled and bowed, their dress crunching in their waist. You'd notice the thin scratchy ribbon that tied their hips, a large bow tied neatly on their back. It seemed that she was steaming. Literally. From a port on the nape of their neck. "My name is Maple." She started in a somewhat distorted voice. "Master is busy situating the new tenants. So i-i-im here to keep you company. Is there something you would like, sir?" She said while cocking her neck to the side in a creak. She appeared to be an automaton of sorts. She carried a small classic feather duster, to which she held up to her cheek, clasped between both hands in an attempt to appear cutesy. Whether or not that is effective is perspective.