towerofanimus | 001 ♃ Sheba and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Entry tags:

001 ♃ Sheba and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Characters: Sheba and YOU!
Setting: Room 2-05 | Dormitory Level 2 | Floor 01 | Floor 03 | Anywhere else interaction may lead - she's exploring and getting a feel for the Tower, after all!
Format: Starting with brackets, but I'll follow you!
Summary: Sheba wakes to find that she's been "rescued" from her presumed-to-be-destroyed world. This would be less of a slap in the face if she hadn't spent the last couple of months on a quest which practically everyone assumed was going to - you guessed it! - destroy her world. Oops.
Warnings: Nothing really, but I'll edit this if that changes.

[ROOM 2-05]
[Sheba's heart was pounding so hard she thought it was going to beat right out of her chest. There was someone there, she couldn't see where exactly there were but she could practically feel someone there, they'd been there for at least twenty seconds, maybe more, why couldn't she scream, why--

Praise everything, she could move! Trembling, she rolled over onto one side, and the feeling slowly began to fade away. Had someone been there? She wasn't sure... It had seemed so real then, but now she was starting to feel a little silly, even with her heart beating wildly and her breathing coming shallowly... There didn't seem to be anyone in this room other than...

Wait. This room... what...?]

Where--?

[She eased herself up into a sitting position and gave the room a cursory once-over.]

This... isn't Mars Lighthouse. It isn't even Prox.

[She drew her knees up to her chest and frowned when she realized that not only were her surroundings different, her clothing was, too. She'd never seen a jumpsuit like this in Weyard... what in the world...?

Her entire mind felt jumbled. Felix had lit the Mars beacon -- and then what? She just couldn't remember, but they must have gotten off the Lighthouse Aerie somehow... She'd have remembered if it had been a repeat of Venus. But why couldn't she remember? He'd cast the Mars Star and then... and then...

Her gaze rested on a nearby piece of paper and she hesitantly reached out to take it. She scanned its contents once, twice. Her face went absolutely pale and the letter slipped out of her hands.]

It can't be...

[DORMITORY LEVEL 2]
[She still felt numb, but sitting around had never helped anyone. She'd been through enough unpleasant situations in her life to know that sometimes you just had to force yourself to keep going. This was one of those times.

The collar was strange, but luckily she'd found her usual clothes in the trunk at the foot of her bed. That, at least, made her feel a little less awkward in this new environment. She'd also found her staff, which she was gripping rather tightly in both her hands as she slipped through the doorway and out into the hall.

...okay... just this level was a lot bigger than she thought it was going to be. She took a breath. She could do this. It was just... going to take a little more time than she thought it was, that's all.

Rule number one of surviving in an unfamiliar place: Make it stop being unfamiliar as quickly as possible. That meant exploring. Presumably, she was meant to be living in that room, so she needed to make sure she knew exactly where it was, exactly how to find it, and exactly what was nearby.

She needed to know if there were others here. If they were friendly, hostile... and she needed to know fast. The fastest way to do that would be mind reading. And while she wasn't sure if she'd like what she found here or not, she had to at least try.

The privacy of others was the least of Sheba's concerns, at this point. So as she walked down the hall, trying to commit as many details to memory as she could, she called upon her Psynergy and cast it out around her, listening closely for the thoughts of others to see if there was anything interesting - or useful - that she might hear.

Anyone with the ability to use or detect magical energy would most likely notice the attempted intrusion into their minds. There was nothing subtle about the Mind Read Psynergy.

She sure looked like just another lost newbie wandering the hall, though.]

[FLOOR 01]
[The elevator that had taken her from the dormitory levels down to the first floor was nothing like the elevators in the Elemental Lighthouses. That was just another entry on Sheba's mental list of things that were absurdly strange about this place, and while she was, at first, a little apprehensive about actually getting into the strange metal contraption, well, she'd faced more frightening things in her life. What was being shut into a metal box compared to fighting a "miraculous" three-headed dragon?

Still, she couldn't help but let out a little sigh of relief as the doors opened and she stepped out onto the first floor. It wasn't as frightening as some things she'd seen, but it was still weird.

The dining hall wasn't so weird, though. There hadn't really been anything of this scale in Lalivero, but Babi's palace had been huge, and though she'd taken her meals in her own room, she knew that many of his soldiers all took their meals in a single mess hall. This was sort of what she imagined it would look like, just... a little more pristine than she was used to. Babi's palace hadn't been messy by any means, but the sleekness of this strange tower made the palace look downright old-fashioned.

She sniffed. It smelled like... eggs? She hadn't had eggs in a very long time. Traveling fare had been pretty basic - the less said of some of their attempts to cook on the road, the better. Eggs were definitely something she'd learned to go without. But she supposed they wouldn't be too bad now... She stepped into the cafeteria and made her way up to get some food.]

...how did I wind up with this...?

[Minutes later, she was seated at a small table, staring down at her bowl of oatmeal with an expression that bordered on petulant. It wasn't bad compared to some of the... rather creative attempts at meals her traveling companions had made - she winced a little at the thought, because she hadn't seen any of them yet, and if that note had been telling the truth, she never would again - but it just seemed somewhat... lacking, compared to what she could see other people eating.

With a sigh, she spooned up a small bite and brought it to her mouth. Well, it wasn't bad... She'd had worse ~~when it had been Jenna's or Garet's turn to cook~~. It just... wasn't good, either...]

[FLOOR 03]
[Her first meal finished, Sheba had decided to continue her exploration of the tower. She'd done little more than just glance in at the infirmary - she hadn't been injured just yet, after all - and had continued on up the stairs.

The library was... breathtaking.]

Kraden, look--

[She cut herself off mere moments after speaking. The old scholar would have loved this floor, she was sure... but he wasn't here anymore. She swallowed hard and approached one of the shelves. The titles all sounded... academic. Complicated. Maybe even boring.

Kraden would have loved these.

She turned away from the shelf with a little more force than was really necessary, blinking rapidly. It was just starting to sink in...

Kraden... Jenna... Piers... Felix...

All the others...

Faran... his family...]

I'm never going to see them again.

[They were gone. Weyard was gone. It was... it was...

She took a deep breath and counted to three. It didn't help - she was starting to tremble again. Frustrated with herself for not being able to keep it in, she grabbed the thickest book she could find, hurried to the nearest chair, and sank into it.

She opened the book, not really caring what page she was on as long as it gave her something to focus on other than the fact that all the people she'd ever cared about were gone.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Mm. It's... nice, I suppose. [She's never really done it any other way. Oh, some names you couldn't escape from - Lord Babi's name, for example, had influence far and wide if you were linked to him in any way. But when you journeyed far enough from your hometown, it was possible to be almost anyone.

That was one of the things she'd liked best about her journey...]

Yes, it's different from my home as well... [Her expression becomes a little sympathetic. To have only just returned home, and to have been ripped from it so cruelly...]

It's...

[She hesitated, and her brows furrowed again. What did she think? She thinks it's terrible, another example of the Wise One's cruelty. If this is meant to be teaching her some sort of lesson about having sought the return of Alchemy, it's just too cruel.]

...it's very... strange. I haven't looked at too many of the floors yet, so I can't say for certain.

[He thinks to himself for a moment what it would be like to be known as just Oz, nothing more and nothing less. To exist separately from the house of heroes is something he knows he'll never achieve, but imagining its pleasant weightlessness is enough for him.

As for the tower itself and the unfortunate circumstances leading to their arrival? Well, he wouldn't be any good at all if he just let her linger on such miserable thoughts. The strangeness of the place, the loneliness of potentially having to face it without anything familiar... He sets his spoon back in his bowl.]

Neither have I, actually! This is the first floor I've spent more than ten minutes on, and I've only passed through four or five others. [A short pause.] Do you want to come exploring with me once we've finished breakfast?

...you wouldn't mind that?

[Exploring the Tower was a definite must. She hadn't died along with her world - she didn't have any intention of dying here. And in her experience, towers were usually pretty dangerous. They needed to be aware of their surroundings... just in case.]

I'd feel a little better about all this if I had someone with me... thank you, Oz.

Of course I wouldn't mind. Two's company, right?

Besides... [CLASPS HIS HANDS TOGETHER oh no he's loud and embarrassing someone stop him] I would certainly regret it for the rest of my life if I watched someone so lovely wander away to explore on her own, especially if we were to never meet again!

[Nevermind the fact that they're stuck in a tower and bound to run into each other again even if it is over forty floors.]

Yes, two's--

[But then she's totally distracted by his next few words. She stares at him with an expression of absolute shock for a moment or too.]

...what...?!

[Her usual company consists of a silent protagonist, a hotheaded fire mage, and a man who is way older than he looks - she doesn't know how to handle this kind of person. Usually it's her doing the teasing!]

[Oh boy oh boy, these are the reactions he looks forward to the most! That, and it provides ample distraction that he's absolutely certain won't be minded at a time like this.]

A few minutes of conversation isn't enough time to get to know you at all! It would be silly of me to let a chance like this go, right?

Well, yes, it's tough to get to know someone in such a short amount of time...

[Admittedly, she could learn lots about people in very little time by reading their minds, but somehow she doubted that was an option for most people.]

...so I suppose exploring would be a good chance to do that...

[Hey, adventuring through monster-infested places was how she'd gotten to know her friends from home. This was as good a start as any, even if she did have no idea how to properly respond to some of the things Oz said or did.]

Exactly! [His enthusiasm can't be tamed... It's a decent incentive to finish his cold, goopy oatmeal though, and at this point, he needs that little extra bit of help. After this, he sure won't be complaining about any of the other cafeteria food.

But since that plan is as good as set in stone, he continues on genially, smoothing right over that little bout of teasing like it had never happened.]

Were there any floors that you really wanted to start with? I heard there's a forest on one of them.

A forest, really?

[Sheba looked a little intrigued by that - how could a forest be contained within a tower? That was definitely something she wanted to see... And to do that, she had to finish her oatmeal!

...at least it wasn't oatmeal made by Garet. That was the only upside of this. She swallowed another bite and managed to refrain from making a face.]

I'm most interested in just seeing what all there is here. I've only been on the floors with all the bedrooms so far. I would like to see the forest, though.

Really! How about that, right? If there's an entire forest in here, I might have a little less to worry about than I first thought. [Another bite of oatmeal. He stops himself from talking for a second since he'd taken a larger one than he intended; it's very similar in texture to what he imagines a mouthful of rubber cement would feel like.]

—Ugh. [Well that was unpleasant... CARRYING ON.] We could cover at least ten floors today if we wanted to, I think. The ones above just seem to be lounges and libraries, so it shouldn't be much to go through. [If he only knew...]

If there's a whole forest, surely there must be something we can eat there. [Even the sort of food she'd eaten while on the road in Weyard would be better than this...

She can't help but giggle a little at the "ugh," but she allows herself to follow the conversation.] Ten sounds like a good number. [A little low, perhaps - she was used to fighting her way through monster-infested towers. She couldn't help but feel that just going up ten floors would be a walk in the park. If only she knew...] Though if they have a forest in here, I wonder what else they've got...

[~~They should totally meet the phantoms.~~]

Berries and things like that, you mean? [He's not very good at scavenging but he can manage in a pinch! After sitting in the bizarrely sterile-looking cafeteria with its gross oatmeal, scrounging around for edible plants sounds like a field trip, anyway.]

That sounds like a plan! They might have a list somewhere with the floors labeled somewhere, or we could ask someone before setting off. [Suddenly his priorities for this trip have shifted from "thoroughly explore ten floors" to "explore some floors maybe and more importantly get food from the forest"...

~~But with the power of their combined bad luck, running into a phantom is bound to happen~~]

Yes, things like that... and if there's animals, we may be able to do something with those, too. Small rabbits, maybe. I haven't made any myself, but I've watched the people I used to travel with do it.

[Too bad she's not a Mars Adept. That would make cooking small animals much easier. She figures even her own attempts at cooking can't be much worse than this oatmeal, though.]

Even if they don't have a list, navigating this place looks relatively straightforward. We'll be able to tell right away if we're in a forest or not, so all we have to do is keep walking up the stairs... and keep an eye out to see if we can get on the elevator on any other floors.

[She hadn't looked too closely at the buttons before she got off on this floor. Maybe it'd be a good idea to check before they started climbing...]

[The thought to hunt hadn't even crossed his mind. Not that he's particularly bad at it, though he would be absolutely miserable with preparing anything he did manage to catch... He just wouldn't be able to eat a rabbit without thinking of Alice.]

Ah... Maybe! Or some birds, I've heard that they're less gamey. [As soon as he sees how freakish and mutant they are he will immediately rescind this opinion.

As for the straightforwardness of the layout and elevator (which he still hasn't entirely figured out), he nods once.] I'd rather use the stairs if there's an option, but understanding the layout can't hurt. [Another bite of oatmeal and he's so close to being finished with the bowl that he can almost taste freedom!]

There's bound to be something in there...

[Her voice trailed off and she looked down at her bowl of oatmeal again. Like Oz, she was nearly finished - well, the sooner this bowl was empty, the better. She made a slight face before spooning up the last couple of bites. Her stomach was probably going to regret rushing it, but she wanted it gone.

Finally she set her spoon down, a faint expression of triumph on her face. There, done!]

I would, too. The elevator is... strange. But I'm not sure how many floors there are in this place, and I don't want to get stranded somewhere because we've walked too far. We have to be really aware of our own limits, especially in such a new place.

[And he will make a valiant effort to keep up with her! Judging by his expression he's clearly displeased with having to rush the last of a terrible meal, but the look of relief when he spoons up the last bite is much stronger. If he never sees another bowl of oatmeal again, he could die happy...]

Done! [He holds his spoon up in the air like a trophy before setting it back in the bowl, immediately scooting out of his chair after.]

That's why we'll take it in ten-floor pieces! We can't possibly manage to get lost only going up that many levels. [Hopefully he didn't just curse the both of them.]

[She got to her feet and brushed off the front of her clothing. She wasn't really a messy eater, but she didn't want any random oats sticking to it... especially since these were the only clothes she'd found in her trunk. She didn't want to have to wear that weird white bodysuit any more often than she had to.]

Good job! Let's get out of here... [Her expression made it pretty clear that she never wanted to see a bowl of oatmeal again, either.]

That's true. I suppose we'll probably have to walk back down here to get back up to our rooms when we're done... [Ten up, ten down - she'd had worse. This should be doable.] But hopefully we'll have found something else to eat by then, no?

[Five bucks says they get lost in the maze - that's in the first ten floors... Oops.]

[He's fortunate enough to have woken up with a whole trunk full of clothing, but he stops to mirror her gesture as well, even though there's nothing on him.]

That's a pretty inconvenient set-up, isn't it? [Because convenience is clearly the most of their problems here, yes... But after a second he seems to recall something and snaps his fingers.]

I heard that there's a restaurant on one of the higher floors! Twenty or something? I mean, the regular food here can't be terrible, but... [IT'S TRAUMATIC having to return to this cafeteria will definitely ruin his appetite for a while!! He pushes his chair in and starts to mosey in the direction of the exit.]

Even if the forest doesn't have much to eat, that should work.

It really is... [She looks at him curiously when he snaps his fingers, and at his next sentence, her expression becomes a little bit excited. Just a little bit... okay, no, a lot.]

There is? [The times Sheba and her friends had stayed at inns during their journey, they'd eaten well. Food that someone cooked specifically for you - rather than like in this place, where it was made for anyone, or rather than food that they caught themselves - almost seemed special. If there was a restaurant here, then maybe...]

That's perfect! We should go there when we get the chance.

[Twenty floors or so wouldn't be that much more difficult than ten, would it? Maybe? Restaurant food definitely sounded more appetizing than eggs, berries, or small animals... She followed Oz towards the exit, ready to get this exploration started.]

[She took the words right out of his mouth! Not that he's going to be hungry for a while after a meal like that. The combination of it being not so appetizing and actually hearty has left him feeling surprisingly full, if not satisfied.]

We might get the chance today if the floors go by as quickly as they have been! [Granted he's only been to the first three, but surely the rest couldn't be any worse...! There isn't any hesitance in his steps as he heads off to the staircase for some proper Adventuring, at least.]

That's true! [She fell into step beside him, her staff slung over one shoulder. She wasn't sure if she'd need it or not, but it was better to be armed in unfamiliar places.

Going up the stairs took relatively little time. Eventually, the pair of them arrived on the second floor - the infirmary. Sheba peered inside, glancing over the hospital beds and the checkup area carefully. The setup looked familiar, but like most of the things she'd seen in the tower so far, the contents were much more... modern than she'd come to expect.

But that begged the question...]

What sorts of things could possibly be in this tower that we'd need a whole floor devoted to an infirmary like this...?

[As soon as he arrives on that floor he's already up and wandering around, picking up this and that and poking in the drawers. No one ever learned anything just standing around!!

He withdraws a strip of plaster from one and turns it over in his hand, looking thoughtful.]

It might just be equivalent to the number of people staying in the tower, right? It's like a whole city in here! [But it is something of a warning sign, and one he isn't just going to disregard.]

That could be...

[She strode over to where the medicines were kept and examined the pills carefully. She wasn't sure what half these things were - herbal remedies were more common in Weyard, and between Felix's Cure, Piers' Ply, and Jenna's Aura, most of Sheba's injuries and illnesses had been fixed through Psynergy.]

Do you have any idea what some of these things do, Oz? I've never seen them before.

[He's got a bottle of isopropyl alcohol in his free hand now, and turns to face her when she speaks again.]

Hm? Ah, no. [The bottle is shaken in a curious way at the same time that he shakes his head.] —Well, I recognize bandages and cotton swabs, obviously, but I have no idea what any of those could be used for. [He points toward a row of orange pill bottles with the plaster strip.] Medication, I'd imagine, but I don't know what for.

[There isn't any energy healing available in his own world, but he's used to dealing with the equivalent of 19th century medicine. None of the futuristic things look exactly familiar, even the things that he does know the purpose of.]

[She reached for a bottle of pills and turned it over in her hand, studying it.] I've never seen... medicine like this before. [Her brows furrowed and she shook the bottle, listening to the rattle of the pills.] Back home we had healing herbs, mostly. Some of the larger cities had doctors who could make draughts, or powders to be mixed in with a drink that were supposed to help.

[Psynergy had always been more effective, though.]

...it might be useful to come back here later and try to figure out how some of these things work. Whoever's in charge here might have... saved us, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we can depend on them if we get hurt here.

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