And with the sweat of your brow...

[bathymetric]

Fun Fact: Did you know that if the multiverse is real, there could be an almost infinite square mileage of completely unexplored ocean out there?

No reason.

...

You wake in one of 25 rooms with a sense of unease that doesn't quite track with how nice the accommodations are. Maybe it has something to do with the giant window leading out to the sea. The temperature is low, which might make you wish you had woken up under the luxurious covers instead of atop them. The lights, too, are low. But next to your bed is a small personal radio, and it's playing a song for you. There's also a small note printed on folded cardstock next to it.

Dear Prospective Citizen,

Welcome to the Helios Suites at New Rapture. The time should currently be 12:00 PM. Please take a moment to get your bearings and become acquainted with your new environment, then meet in the hotel lobby at 1:30 PM sharp for an orientation with Mayor Fontaine.

With only that for guidance, there's only the one thing to do: get out there and start exploring... well, it's hardly a full city, but it's something! And in the halls (or on the wall of your suite or the lobby), you very well may find up to 24 other captives.

What you do until your meeting with Mayor Fontaine, well... that's up to you. Every room certainly gives you something to talk about.

Comments

[buriedstar]

Doesn't that just go for most things? [ It's mostly rhetorical since he moves on. ]

Too messy for my tastes. Ransacking a place from top to bottom is going to set off every alarm and trap within 100 meters. Pulling the wool over their eyes is better, and I doubt everything in here was actually worth stealing.

[daimakaicho]

[ She tilts her head, smiling. ]

That would make sense, given how the damage doesn't seem to extend past here. There's quite a lot probably worth something back in the hotel. But value is mostly in the eyes of the beholder, hm? Clearly something made an impact here.

[buriedstar]

Mostly. The market exists for a reason. [ Not really push back so much as stating: he knows the value of sentimental things but also, there really is no comparing a fully maxed out legendary weapon to a common sword drop from a slime. MMO economies, you know. ]

Either way, taking everything was probably their way of covering their tracks. Or, they're just a brute.

[daimakaicho]

[ There's a quiet laugh to that. ]

You can say that again.

[ Hums. ] Covering their tracks is probably the correct answer, anyway. Less easy to identify where you actually are if there's nothing around to tell you.

[buriedstar]

I never underestimate stupidity.

[ He has to couch his bets, you see. ]

Seeing is less than half of it, but with skills blocked...it's primitive, but effective in this instance.

[daimakaicho]

Smart boy.

[ When he mentions his skills, she laughs again. ]

To be fair, this place wouldn't even be here anymore if they weren't blocking them. So I'm not sure how much there would have been able to see.

[buriedstar]

Boy? Are you really old enough that I should call you noona?

[ As for the destruction bit...his bright red eyes say it all, really. ]

[daimakaicho]

I suppose that depends on how old you think I am if you think I could be your older sister.

[ ... actually, older sister is probably better than being pegged as a grandma, so at least he's got that going for him. ]

[buriedstar]

You're the one called me a "boy". [ He honestly sounds less offended and more amused? He's young by some measures of the word and older by others, but still not many boys walk around in a full suit with vest. ]

And noona isn't just for older sisters. Plenty of men call their woman noona as a form of affection.

[daimakaicho]

Oh? I'll have to keep that in mind, then.~

[ She smiles, pushing her hair back. She's had Japan on the brain for a little bit too long, she's gotta get back into her universal cosmic self or whatever. ]

You didn't answer the question, though.

[buriedstar]

I'm sure that'll be easy for you with me around.

[ We can skip past names, affectionate honorifics are fine. ]

Was it one? Wondering isn't the same thing as asking, noona. I favor the direct approach myself.

[ His smile is sly. ]

But if you're older than me, then you need to be at least twenty-five. Did I get that right?

[daimakaicho]

[ names are overrated in this underwater city! ]

You're certainly in the right ballpark. [ It's a very, very large ballpark, to be fair, but she just wanted some answer. ] Probably times a couple hundred, but it's hard to accurately tell that sort of thing, given how time fluctuates between worlds.

[buriedstar]

So I was right, you are experienced. [ ;) ]

I can't say I'm a world traveler, but I know my way around all manner of dungeons. You'll need to teach me. Seo Dawon, but you can just call me Dawon, noona~.