towerofanimus | this time isn't Hell [open]

Characters: Rider and you!
Setting: Floors 1, 3 and 6.
Time: November 9
Format: Action, will match!
Summary: A strange tower isn't immune to conquest, as far as the King of Conquerors is concerned. But of course, he has to know what he's conquering first.
Warnings: Slight violence in the third scenario, but hey, when a deer tries to attack you, you'd kill it too, right? Otherwise probably none, really...

[After a touching reunion, Rider sets out to explore the tower, since his newfound autonomy is actually well appreciated. From where he starts in the dormitories, he explores the layout in full, but from there, he figures he might as well start from the bottom and work his way up.]

Floor One
[Of course, when he's half expecting some kind of confrontation based on the attitudes that he's seen thus far, it's a rather pleasant surprise to instead encounter a large dining hall. And for anyone that might see Rider emerge from the elevator, it's a comical scene, since he really only barely managed to get in it, since elevators are generally not made for people eight feet tall and built like an ox. In fact, getting out proves to be more difficult than getting in, and the elevator starts to sound its shrieking alarm as the door is open too long, until he finally manages.]

[...Of course, he seems hardly embarrassed or affected, and immediately brushes off his shoulder with a laugh]

Ha, it is always so inconvenient for this world to be shaped around the people who have shrunk so much... If I have trouble, then Darius would surely be unable to navigate it at all.

[Whether he's announcing that or just talking to himself isn't really clear, but he does take a seat at one of the tables with crossed arms] But this is as good a start as any! A feast to begin, and a feast to mark my victory when this too becomes a part of my territory. So come, bring the mead! Is this not a cause for celebration?

[Yes, he's totally expecting people to serve him. Life is hard when you're a king.]

Floor Three
[Well, his meal probably ended up more modest than a feast, but he's still at least satisfied with some manner of food and drink. Continuing up, the next floor that catches his interest is the great library, and in contrast to the cafeteria, he at least knows enough by now to be quiet here. Still, he towers over nearly every bookshelf, and walks back and forth through the library, gathering a large variety of books. There's books on war tactics and technology, atlases, Greek poetry (the works of Homer especially) and other subjects that speak towards a well-educated and military-minded man. He is disappointed to find no history books, since that was his clear source of figuring out what manner of place this was, but ah, well.]

[Though, once he's satisfied with his pile of books, he doesn't take a table to read, but rather, unceremoniously sits on the ground with legs crossed in an area large enough to accommodate him and the books that are scattered around him.]

[And despite his serious expression as he pours through the books, he will be more than happy to speak with anyone curious enough to inquire why he's so weird.]

Floor Six
[And continuing up, Rider is no less than amazed to find a "floor" (if he could call it that) containing a forest. It's a wonder, and it only furthers his ambition to claim this place for his own. Something as fantastic as this was only worthy to be ruled by the King of Conquerors.]

[He ventures into the forest to observe seemingly every plant that's unfamiliar to him, because that is just as great a pleasure as venturing over the hot sands of Persia. He doesn't run across any of the strange animals, since Rider is comfortable enough to disregard any of them, not feeling any real sense of danger. It's when he's inspecting a stream and the clarity of its water that he encounters a deer which stands on the other side. At first, he greets it with a smile, but seeing that strange shifting and the animal's stance, he understands that this forest is not to be underestimated after all.]

[He stands with a chuckle, pulling the sword at his side from his sheath almost simultaneously as the deer lunges forward to attack. But Rider has no need of his abilities as a Servant to make quick work of the deer, beheading it in a single stroke. But rather than be disturbed by the fact that such a normally docile creature would attack or seeing its unnatural fangs, Rider can only grin, eventually laughing.]

Ha, so this place does present a challenge after all! Good, good, I would hate to claim it so easily. There is no satisfaction in an easy victory.

[He wipes his blade on the grass to clean it before re-sheathing it, but then stands, scratching at his beard thoughtfully] ...Though, hm. I wonder which way that staircase was?

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[ Don't worry, Urotsuki doesn't think he's weird at all. In fact, this is pretty much more or less a normal sight for her, so she's just quietly staring at Rider as he's sitting there surrounded by all those books.. she even quietly picks up one, idly browsing through it as she tries to understand what it's saying. Apparently she's picked up the Iliad, and she's slowly starting to read out loud from it (as if the guy wouldn't even mind her suddenly speaking up) while she frowns as if she's trying to understand it. ]

'As a fire raging in some mountain glen after long drought-- and the dense forest is in a blaze, while the wind carries great tongues of fire in every direction-- even so furiously did Achilles rage, wielding his spear as though he were a god, and giving chase to those whom he would slay, till the dark earth ran with blood.' [ Just a mid-teens girl casually reading it in a blank voice, no big deal. ]

[He had watched her pick up the book out of the corner of his eye, not stopping or commenting on it at all, but as she begins to read, he sets down his book to listen with eyes bright. Even if the delivery was not quite as exciting as he would warrant to the scene, he picks up the next line from memory, reading it with the tones of someone who had read it many times and carried the emotion of the scene in his words.]

"Or as one who yokes broad-browed oxen that they may tread barley in a threshing-floor- and it is soon bruised small under the feet of the lowing cattle- even so did the horses of Achilles trample on the shields and bodies of the slain."

[A pause, as he gestures widely with his hands] "The axle underneath and the railing that ran round the car were bespattered with clots of blood thrown up by the horses' hoofs, and from the tyres of the wheels; but the son of Peleus pressed on to win still further glory, and his hands were bedrabbled with gore."

[And then he grins at her, laughing] Quite a scene to imagine, eh?

[ She looks almost a little surprised in the middle of all the blankness when he starts speaking on instead, and without a book.. huh, that's pretty cool. He's pretty good at reciting it too, so she just flops down on the ground herself, crossing her legs as she listens to it like she's watching some sort of play. She even applauds him a little when he's done.

Then she just nods. ]

It really is. To think someone could really do all of that..

[He nods his head in a polite concession to the applause, though personally, he doesn't think much of it. He had heard many storytellers far better than he, though of course that was a trade in itself when he lived.]

Well, it is not just "someone," in fairness! Achilles was the greatest hero that the Greeks ever knew. None ever surpassed him in his valor, and I do not think any will. [Rider crosses his arms, nodding as if this is simply a fact] I have much admiration for him, and for the great poet Homer that told his tale.

But you're a big guy too, right? [ Just.. a random observation, apparently her weird logic is about to kick in here. ]

That must mean you could be a great hero too. Or at least a big one.

[In a way, he's rather flattered, but it's merely because he holds The Iliad in such high esteem that even such a comparison to Achilles is a great honor. Still, it's not as if that shows, since he laughs with amusement.]

That I am! And I would say that I am indeed a hero, as long as you trust that the word's meaning is somewhat variable. [Another wide, sweeping gesture] I am Alexander III of Macedon, the King of Conquerors as the one who conquered all of Persia.

[ There's an 'oooooh' sort of sound.

But then she just.. well, just keeps staring at him with the same blank expression, as if she's frozen for a few literal moments.

Then she finally moves again, curiously tilting her head-- ] There was someone who conquered all of one place..?

That's right!

[He laughs proudly, not really put off by her spaciness]

With my army, we took all of the great Persian empire, and even had our sights set further east, but that much was not meant to be. [Still, he grins widely] But still, to see the sands of Persia and its great mountains and to claim them as my own through great battle? It was a great feat!

That does sound amazing. [ Despite the enthusiasm not really being in her voice (it's still very much blank) the sentiment still seems genuine. It's more seen in the way she's clutching her knees to her chest now, as if she's focusing as she listens to him. ]

I've never had mountains that were just mine.. .. ah, just in dreams. But you did it in the real world, right? Not just in a dream.

[A nod]

That is correct. But there was something I saw in my dreams that I could never reach, admittedly. Though that made the pursuit all the better.

[He motions broadly again, as if crafting the shape of the river he's describing with his hands] For you see, there were great stories I was told as a boy of a great river that encircled the world. It is Ōkeanós. It is said to be the most admirable of all seas, and would make any man weep at its beauty. And I sought to see this great sea for myself, to stand upon its sands and weep, knowing that I had seen every land between where I was born and the end of the world, and also made it mine. That is the land of my dreams. And that is why I have great confidence that anything in reality is surely within my ability to grasp.

[ Wow, that is a pretty impressive story. And although some people might not care for that stuff, Urotsuki is practically hanging onto his lips with every word, her eyes glazing over a little as if she's trying to imagine this river herself. ]

Maybe you'll still get to see it someday.. that big river. [ Still thinking about it.. ] I'd like to see it too.. I wouldn't even mind crying.

[He chuckles]

It may sound strange from a person that looks like me, but there is no shame in such a thing. The tears which are most honorably shed are those over art or over grief of a dear friend.

[But he feels a bit embarrassed saying such a thing despite that, and looks up at the ceiling as he rubs the back of his head] But, well! I should hope I should still get the chance to see it, though here... Ha! Here, I wonder about that!

[ She doesn't seem to find it too embarassing. At least not enough so to make fun of him or something, but she isn't really the type to do that to begin with.

Instead she's just thinking, and suddenly she seems to come to some realisation. ] .. Maybe that's the reason you couldn't reach the river. Maybe it's here in the tower, and you couldn't get to the tower before.

[He seems pleased by that idea, and chuckles with a scratch at his beard]

I wonder! If that should be true, then I will have to explore every inch of this tower in search of it.

Do you want me to help?

[ She seems to have taken the whole quest upon herself too now.. his story was just too interesting to not feel like seeing it herself now, honestly. ]

I'm good at looking for things. Even if it takes a really long time.

this time isn't Hell [open]

floor 3

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