01

[marriedthebloke]

Characters: AU Sola-ui and you
Setting: Her room, the cafeteria, and other floors of the Tower
Format: I'll match anything you do
Summary: Sola-ui wakes up to the weirdest "kidnapping" of her life.
Warnings: None for now


1. Room 1-01

[As she wakes, up Sola-ui realizes that she doesn't know when or why she fell asleep. The last thing she remembered, she was joking around with Diarmuid on the kitchen floor. She had clearly been awake, but...]

[Right now, she's clearly lying on something softer. As she slowly sits up, she realizes that she is in an unfamiliar room, wearing clothes that she has never worn before. She cautiously steps out of bed, hugging her arms to her body and shivering a little because of the thin, skintight suit.]

[Her first guess is that she has been kidnapped. It worries her to know that someone has enough skill to kidnap the wife of a magus right out from his own house. Likely the kidnappers had also erased her memories of the kidnapping for whatever reason.]

[She starts walking around the room, trying to discover some sort of evidence that would indicate the identity of the offenders or their skills. Though, given the amount of planning and power it required to kidnap her, she doesn't believe they would be stupid enough to leave any sort of evidence behind.]

[The room certainly looks cozier than the usual basement or holding cell. Four beds, each with a trunk at the end. There's even personal items strewn around. These beds wouldn't look out of place in an actual bedroom. Her investigation is at first confined the items left in the open. Next comes the trunks, starting with the one next to "her" bed.]

[She almost gets a heart attack when she opens the trunk to find one of her own mouse familiars leaping at her. Looking down into her trunk, she can also see her clothes and a dagger she had seen from around the house. This discovery only makes everything more confusing. Why would someone go to such lengths to kidnap her and bring her things along, but leave her weapons and familiars? What were they trying to do?]

[At least she has her clothes back. Since there seem to nobody in the room at the moment, she quickly removes the bodysuit to slip on her real clothes. Following that, she sits down on a bed, waiting for someone to come give her an explanation. Even if they were her enemies, they owed her, as a lord's wife, that little bit of courtesy.]

2. Cafeteria

[Sola-ui is sitting at a table, staring at her oatmeal. Hunger and curiosity drove her to finally leave her room. However, she is reconsidering her decision if she has to eat this slop.

[After a long while, she finally lifts up the spoon, takes a sip, and smacks her lips. It is followed by a frown.]

This might be the worst oatmeal I have ever tasted. Not even the slightest hint of flavor! Cold and clammy as well. My husband could cook better than this.

[And when she compares something to her husband's level, she is certainly showing her disdain.]

3. Any floor (morning)

[After a horrible breakfast nowhere near what her "aristocratic" tasted buds were used to ingesting, Sola-ui is walking through the floors of her new residence. It's a strange place, but walking down these hallways gives her a strange sense of excitement. It's very different from the tedium she had settled into after marrying Kayneth, after all.]

4. Any floor (evening)

[Of course, since she is caught up in the excitement of finally being in a new place, she loses track of the time. Morning slips into evening, and monsters start emerging. Seeing as how she has no fighting skills, she is easily cornered by the slobbering beasts. All she can do is retreat, hoping desperately that they would leave or someone would save her.]

Comments

Cafeteria

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko sighed before she started her usual infodump, scratching her head.]

This is the Tower of Animus. Four people now run it-Riki, a secretive man who builds the Tower and is in charge of the records, Zo, a small child who can bring souls here, Jason, a sadistic medical doctor who sometimes experiments on the residents. He, I believe, helps transfer your soul when you die. Finally, there’s Ruana, a woman who has been here for thousands of years and doesn’t quite human empathy or emotions, and hates it when people go against her. She may seem sweet, but she is capable of removing free will and canalizing her own Administrators.

There used to be a fifth Administrator named Dax. He was the most humane of the bunch and did his best to protect us from Jason and the monsters here. He even managed to sneak people down to the Administrative levels in order to let them know more about this place. However, when he tried to go against Ruana..she killed and ate him, possibly absorbing his powers in the process. He was a good man.

Death isn’t permanent here. If you die, you’ll just wake up in your bed the next day. However, don’t throw your life away for foolish reasons. For one thing, you’ll probably get punished if you die too many times, and for the other…your body is made up of recycled parts. Only your soul was pulled to this universe. Your body, and the ones you’ll have afterward, are not your original body. That’s why you have the collar. It helps make sure your soul safely stays in your body.

I’m sorry to say that your universe is destroyed. You may see people you know here, but they won’t be from your own universe or point in time. I don’t know exactly how our universes were destroyed, but I do know that it was caused by Ruana watching our universes, for some reason.

Monsters roam the Tower at night, and some of the higher floors have monsters that attack if you get too close. If you can’t fight, then I would suggest learning. There are plenty of people here who would be willing to teach you.

[Tohko sighed again and then nodded to herself.]

That should be everything. I'm sorry that you've come to this place.

Re: Cafeteria

[marriedthebloke]

[As Sola-ui listens, her expression changes from interested, to disgusted, to utterly confused.]

So you are saying...that they have that much power?

[She can count second and third magics among them.]

Cafeteria

[tohko_amano]

That is exactly what I am saying.

Re: Cafeteria

[marriedthebloke]

...Thank you for your help.

[She takes another sip of her oatmeal.]

Then...can you tell me something about the floors? Are they all the same as this one?

Cafeteria

[tohko_amano]

Oh, you're welcome. I'm always happy to help out, especially with bringing people up to speed.

As for the floors, they're not all the same as this one. There are two libraries, a pool, a beach..and several other odd ones. However, they become more dangerous as you go up, so please be careful.

Re: Cafeteria

[marriedthebloke]

Interesting.

[This child might be annoying and overly affectionate, but she was a valuable source of information.]

What do you mean by...odd?

Cafeteria

[tohko_amano]

Well, there's a poppy floor right out of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and there's a huge room filled with blocks, and even a ball pit. However, one floor doesn't exist, even though it feels like it does..and another is an art gallery that shows you your worst nightmares.

Re: Cafeteria

[marriedthebloke]

And this is all inside one Tower?

[It sounds like something along the lines of a reality marble.]

Cafeteria

[tohko_amano]

I know it sounds strange, but this Tower has a hundred floors, and it's not exactly normal.

Re: Cafeteria

[marriedthebloke]

[She sighs and returns to her oatmeal. Of everyone in her family she had to be the one brought to this strange place.]

So how did you find out about these administrators? Do they ever speak to us?

Cafeteria

[tohko_amano]

I found out about it through the other residents and my own observations. They sometimes contact us though the network and, very rarely, they'll appear in person, but they'll always appear to you. I've never heard of them replying to someone else unless it's a big deal.

[marriedthebloke]

You speak of a "network." Does this place have some sort of internet?

[tohko_amano]

Well, it's not really the internet..but there are computers in the libraries and in the dorms that you can log into. I think what's stored on them would be more comparable to a chatroom or a forum, but you can talk to the other residents using it.

[marriedthebloke]

Oh. That still does sound useful. Is there a way to record and store messages? Or possibly print them?

[tohko_amano]

It is pretty handy..but I'm sad to say that there is no way to store and record messages on them. You have to do that all by hand or by memory.

[marriedthebloke]

You would think that they could at least invest in a printer.

[tohko_amano]

[At that, Tohko sighed.]

I know..it would be nice, but the Administrators, as I've said before, aren't really known for their kindness.

[marriedthebloke]

I would say it's more a matter of convenience than kindness, wouldn't you? Unless they have something to hide, so they feel compelled to make the information as inconvenient to get as possible.

[tohko_amano]

Well, I suppose it would be convenient, but they may see it as more a kind act than anything. And they still have a few things to hide..but I'm not sure if that's related to the printers or not.

[marriedthebloke]

Has there been anyone keeping written notes?

[tohko_amano]

There probably has, but I wouldn't be able to tell you who specifically. My memory isn't that bad, so I've been relying on it a lot.

[marriedthebloke]

Thank you again for all that information.

[For the time being, she can't think of anything else to ask.]

[tohko_amano]

[And for once, Tohko actually smiles a little.]

Oh, no problem. I'm always happy to bring newcomers up to speed, especially in this place. What's your name?

[marriedthebloke]

[She considers ignoring the girl, but given that this child had just given her a great amount of information, the least she could do was give the girl her name in exchange.]

Sola-ui Archibald El Melloi.

[tohko_amano]

[And Tohko's smile grew as she nodded.]

Alright then. It's nice to meet you, Sola-ui. I'm Tohko Amano, the book girl. If you ever need any help, let me know, alright?