The Fortress of Many Turnings [open]

[applesaucemod]

Welcome to Caerdroia. Though at first glance this world seems calm, even idyllic, closer inspection will reveal a startling lack of linearity. A doorway in one place can suddenly lead to another entirely, the locals going about their business seem totally unaware of your presence, and you may find reminders of home that are less than welcome -- and less than safe.

The countryside seems almost designed to set one at one's ease. Gentle, rolling hills overlook a town in the near distance, and herds of friendly cows cluster here and there (with unknown intent).

The Garden of Curiosities is a walled-off park. Inside, streams and paths wind through beautiful landscaping, and animals can be found on the loose everywhere. For the most part, these creatures are friendly (or at least indifferent) toward visitors, though their appearance might perturb. One might see an animal one has never encountered before, or one might find the garden inhabited by creatures from one's own world that are somehow changed, whether in size, color, or behavior. And, of course, one might find something rather more predatory has taken up residence….

The town hall never seems to be in the same place twice. Finding your way through the streets to any one particular building is an exercise in frustration, as the town seems to shift and change whenever part of it is out of your sight. The hall itself isn't much better once you get inside; stairwells have a habit of appearing on the ceiling, hallways turn into dead ends while your back is turned, and floors are liable to open up into fathomless pits.

The Labyrinth is where many journeys seem destined to end. The way out is, more often than not, the way in. Try to leave one part of Caerdroia, and the doorway might very well open into the labyrinth. And, like any good labyrinth, this one is home to a Minotaur. And, like any good Minotaur, this one would be more than happy to tear you to pieces.

[OOC: Once again, the shared dream is open to all characters, including those not currently in the game and those belonging to players who are not currently members. Once again, too, players are free to choose whether their characters see the dream for what it is, whether they are forced to abide by its rules, and whether they will remember this in the morning.]

Comments

[watchesthebeans]

From Aglet's perspective at floor level, the corridors of the town hall all look the same. He's already been turned around twice -- he thinks --- and has no idea where he is or where he's come from. So far, though, he's chalking that up to how confusing new places always are for him, not aware that this time, he really does have an excuse for being lost. Hand on the wall, he huddles behind a plinth, watching to be sure he's not being watched, then darts along the wall in the direction of the next hiding spot.

[has_a_horn]

As Gabriel turns another corner that he's sure he's already been past, Aglet will find himself being watched. At first Gabriel thinks what he sees is a mouse, but the mind he senses there is definitely human. He crouches down next to the potted plant the person is hiding behind and peeks around the side. "Hello?"

[watchesthebeans]

Aglet pauses to catch his breath behind the cover of the potted plant. Where he's going he doesn't know, but this hallway certainly isn't suitable. Where has Jennifer's room got to? He can hardly ask for directions; even if there were any Beans around he wouldn't approach them.

He's obviously not being as cautious as he really ought under the circumstances, as he has no idea the Bean -- a man, no less -- is there until he speaks up. Aglet lets out a little yelp as he spins on the spot. None of the Beans he's met so far have hurt him, but considering there are only two and Jennifer directly introduced him to the second, that's not very reassuring for interactions with Beans on the whole. Stumbling backwards, he tries to put the pot between himself and the man.

[has_a_horn]

"Hey, Thumbelina, it's alright," he says as the person hides away behind the pot. "Not gonna hurt you, I promise. Just curious."

[watchesthebeans]

Given the choice between staying hidden behind the pot (albeit with a Bean who knows he's there) and making a run for it, Aglet chooses to stay put for the moment. He's silent, though, afraid to respond and somehow under the impression that keeping his mouth shut might help the Bean come to the conclusion that he didn't actually see anything.

[has_a_horn]

This being a dream, and Gabriel having enough control to change himself within it, he shrugs his shoulders and shrinks down until he's small enough to walk back behind the potted plant. "Helloooo. Hello." He walks up the the kid and offers his hand for a handshake. "You usually this compact?"

[watchesthebeans]

Aglet's expecting the Bean to talk again and/or to move the plant, so when someone more or less his own size joins him, he's more than a little surprised. "Oh!" he says, looking for a moment like he's going to bolt anyway. Then he realizes how silly that would be, since obvs. this is a Borrower and they don't have anything to fear from one another. His aunt taught him about handshakes in case he ever met anyone whose hand needed shaking, so he reaches out to take it after only a moment's hesitation. "Is the Bean still out there?" he asks, skipping the other man's question because he doesn't understand it and it doesn't seem as urgent. This Borrower's voice sounds the same as the Bean a moment ago, but he must be mistaken, right?

[has_a_horn]

Bean. Okay, well, he can connect the dots there. Guess this guy always is this small. Fascinating. "That'd be me. I thought I'd shrink down to size, make conversation go a little more smoothly." Did he forget to mention that this is a dream? Whoops.

[watchesthebeans]

Aglet boggles. "You can change sizes?" he asks incredulously. "Just...like that? Whenever you want? I thought I was the only one!"

[has_a_horn]

See look, you get all sorts of handy information when you down show your entire hand in one go. "You mean you can change sizes outside of the dreaming? Pretty impressive. That happen when you fell through the rift?"

[watchesthebeans]

"I traded sizes with Jennifer on accident once," replies Aglet. "She thinks it's because of the rift, but I never met any Beans before her, so I don't know if I could have done it before. I don't think I could."

Because if Borrowers could do that, he's sure his aunt would have told him about it. Puzzled, he asks, "What's the dreaming?"

[has_a_horn]

"It's like a dream, only more...communal. Plenty of real people walking around dreamland, yeah?" He nods to the scenery around them. "This place isn't real."

[watchesthebeans]

"We're dreaming right now?" Aglet looks around again, though mostly what he can see is wall and pot. "Oh. I guess that explains why I don't recognize any of this."

[jennifer_strange]

Jennifer and the beast have been wandering these godforsaken corridors for what feels like hours without making any kind of progress. So really, they've earned a break. Or a sulk. It's probably a bit of both.

To that end, Jennifer is sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, one hand loosely curled around the beast's leash. There's a bench only a few feet away, but the Quarkbeast is busily crunching on the wrought iron legs, and she's far too annoyed with this place to scold him. If anything, she feels a rush of spiteful pleasure as the beast finishes off the right legs and sends the bench listing to the floor. "Good boy," she murmurs.

[watchesthebeans]

Really, what were these Beans thinking, building a place with hardly anywhere to hide? Aglet is still quite a ways down the hall from Jennifer when he arrives behind another potted plant, with little to no cover between them. For a moment or two he doesn't recognize her, and the sound of a bench falling to the floor nearly startles him into going the other way.

It's lucky for him that he pauses to look more shrewdly at the Bean sitting against the wall. Relief sweeps over him as he recognizes her profile, and Aglet steps out from behind the pot.

"Jennifer!" he calls, cupping his hands to his mouth.

[jennifer_strange]

One upside to having such unadorned hallways: when Jennifer (barely) hears someone calling her name, it isn't too difficult to her to spot just who the someone is. "Aglet?" She certainly wasn't expecting to see him, but it's not an unwelcome surprise, and she finds herself smiling as she climbs to her feet and starts to head his way.

She's held up for a moment by the beast, who only lingers long enough to pry the left front leg off of the bench. Tail wagging, it carries the bit of iron scrollwork in its jaws as it follows her over to the potted plant. She drops into a crouch a few feet away, keeping her movements slower than usual so she doesn't startle him. "How'd you end up here?"

[watchesthebeans]

Aglet still doesn't much care for the beast, and seeing it tear apart Bean-sized furniture really doesn't help him feel better disposed toward it. At least its mouth is full? He's relieved he doesn't have to go to Jennifer, since at least having the potted plant makes him feel like he could maybe dodge away if the Quarkbeast decides to discontinue its not-eating-Borrowers streak.

"I was just...." he starts, ready to recount the whole story. Sadly, he draws a blak. "I...wandered out of the apartment?" he suggests, digging up the explanation he's unconsciously assumed to be the case, though why he would have done so is a mystery. "I can't find my way back."

[jennifer_strange]

Jennifer sighs. It had been wishful thinking that had prompted her question, and she's not surprised that Aglet seems to be as unsure of how he ended up here as she is. It's still frustrating, though. "Me, neither," she admits with a dissatisfied little frown. "But wherever we are, there's some spellwork going on. The hallways keep twisting back on themselves - have you noticed?"

[watchesthebeans]

"I thought it was me. Aunt Euphony always said I couldn't find my way out of a paper bag without directions." Which had been a bit harsh, to be honest, but it was true that he'd kept getting lost long after he ought to have found his way around his cousins' home in the shop.

[jennifer_strange]

"It's definitely not just you," Jennifer assures him. "The beast and I have been stuck here for hours. Feels like hours, anyway," she amends, wrinkling her nose. "If I had Exhorbitus, it might help a little, but without it..." she shrugs. To be honest, she doubts that the sword would make finding her way out of here any easier. It would, however, be incredibly satisfying to just hack her way straight through the walls instead of perpetually wandering the hallways.

[watchesthebeans]

"So we're not near the apartment?" Just clarifying that, because he'd really sort of like to get back to his shelf now. It's nice and closed-in now that they've got a better wall on the front of it, and his stuff's there.

[jennifer_strange]

"I'm not sure we're even in New York." The people outside had been ignoring them to a degree that seemed excessive even for NYC, and this building is either drenched in magic or just completely unconcerned with the laws of physics. Either way, not things she'd associate with the city she'd been in yesterday.

"Maybe the rift brought us here." Except she doesn't remember that happening, and she's not sure if the rift is in the habit of giving people a little amnesia on top of its other shenanigans.

[watchesthebeans]

"I thought people always came through the rift alone," Aglet points out, taking a step or two back so he can sit on the rim of the potted plant's saucer. "Are there any windows? It all looks the same from down here."

[jennifer_strange]

"Not always." Jennifer shifts to sit back against the wall again, keeping herself between Aglet and the beast. "When I came through, the Quarkbeast was with me."

The beast, realizing they're not going anywhere for a few minutes, settles in to gnaw on the bench leg.

[watchesthebeans]

"Were you holding onto it?" Maybe that makes a difference. Aglet has all his tools that were on him when he fell, after all.