Event Log #004

[caelumstaff]

EVENT LOG number 004 Happy New Year, folks! The Hotel is settling into the New Year with little fanfare. Mr Bennet remains at his post behind the hotel desk and helps check guests in and out daily. The Hotel continues to hustle and bustle and nothing seems to be going too awry beyond the usual shenanigans. In fact, one might even call this the slow season for the Hotel. THE FLOOR IS LAVA That is until the second week of the month where the intercoms start with Mr Bennet's pleasant voice coming through. "Hello, hello! This is just a small warning that one of our floors, the current 79th floor to be exact, has had a small... malfunction, I suppose, and will be affecting the other floors of the Hotel. No word yet from maintenance when this will be over, so stay on your toes, my dear guests!" And that's it. No indication of what the problem is, or anything like that. It's up to you to figure out what's going on! And what is going on? Well, it'll become obvious very quickly when wherever characters happen to be in the Hotel, they'll soon start feeling a very obvious warmth on the floor below them. It'll increase the longer they stay standing in one spot until it's almost burning their feet. The only salve for this will be hopping onto a nearby piece of furniture and getting their feet off the floor. It'll soon become obvious that the entire Hotel has been wrapped in a game of The Floor is Lava, including the floor turning into actual lava on some of the floors. SAFETY SLEEPOVER Of course, the Hotel is not cruel enough to make the entire Hotel unsafe and soon enough Mr Bennet's voice will come through on the intercom again. "For those looking for respite from our current Hotel wide game," because clearly it's a game now. "We'll be serving tea and cake in the lounge on the ground floor. Maintenance has been able to fix the lounge for now so feel free to come by when you can if you'd like to rest. We have sleeping bags!" As folks enter the lounge, they'll find that Mr Bennet is true to his word. The lounge has been converted into a giant sleepover, with sleeping bags lining the floor and a long table off to the side where people can eat their tea and cakes. Mr Bennet is near the food table, handing out pajamas, toothbrushes, and sleep masks to those who request them. There's some new doors off to the side leading to some restrooms, at least, so guests can change in private. Though, one thing to point out is when Mr Bennet says there's tea and cakes, the cakes happen to be lava cakes. He thinks he's funny. THE FLOOR IS ICE It'll take about two days for hotel maintenance to fix the Hotel and return it to normal. So that's two days of living out of the lounge or hopping around the Hotel to get places. What a headache. Mr Bennet will make another lively announcement on the intercom. "We are back in business, folks! I've just been given word that everything should have return to normal now. Though, there is a warning to make sure not to walk around barefoot for at least another day or so while the Hotel settles. Thank you for your patience!" What that means becomes obvious soon as anyone walking around now will feel that the floor is especially cold. That's a bit better than the heat, at least, but still kind of a pain in the ass. Anyone who tries to walk around barefoot will find that their feet quickly start to freeze but any permanent damage is easily avoidable by putting on some socks or getting off the floor entirely. Though that said, the ice does lead to some furniture sliding around and even with shoes on, characters might find themselves sliding too. What a lovely end to the holidays. NAV | PREMISE | RULES | FAQ | TAKEN hotelcaelum | caelumserver | caelumooc

Comments

[vecna]

[Very hot. Intensely hot for a lich man — it’s a stagger all the way to their rooms, a heavy lean on the corridor wall which still feels almost too warm to touch.

Her room happens to be closest, and he’s leaning against the doorframe when they’re close enough.]

[velluminous]

[ she drops like a spider from its web, halfway down the wall when her concentration breaks and she stumbles the rest of the way down, slamming hard into the door. fumbles; unlocks it. ]

Inside! Now. Get on bed and stay there.

[vecna]

[Henry’s in no position to argue, and he stumbles into her room nearly as soon as she opens the door. In here, at least, there’s refuge from the heat — for now.

It’s an effort to make it to the bed, though, and he nearly trips on the way over. Thankfully, he’s close enough to catch himself on the edge of the bed with his palms, cursing under his breath.]

This damn hotel—

[velluminous]

[ what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what is happening to my boyfriend— i mean my friend

coming up behind and trying to bodily lift him up onto the mattress ]

What is wrong with you??

[vecna]

[YOUR VERY GOOD FRIEND

We all know she can very easily lift him up and plop him down on the mattress. He tries to sit up, but finds himself with barely enough vigor to prop up on a single elbow. Now that the adrenaline is eking away, his limbs feel weak. Like his bones have dissolved from his body.]

I told you about one of my weaknesses before. I didn’t mention… the other.

[The heat. The flames.]

[velluminous]

[ the....

other....................... ]

Fire. You are vulnerable to fire. Of course you would be, of course. Why not? Only entire hotel is become magma pool!

[ THIS IS HER WORST FUCKING NIGHTMARE ]

It could not be only one of us? We are both having to have trouble with flame?

[vecna]

[Hngh. Flops back down, facing the ceiling, still sweaty and gross and feeling a little dizzy from the heat. Though being in here is so, so much better already.

Lowly-]

You mean you didn’t want to match?

[She seemed resistant enough to the heat, at least. Though he knows her troubles with fire aren’t so straightforward.]

[velluminous]

[ for all his complains, he doesn't seem at risk of actually perishing from this, so she'll set her hand-wringing aside for the moment in favour of something much more sensible: some Prestidigitation.

to clean away that brackish sweat from his ... everywhere. ]

It is one thing after another here. Lava? Lava.

[vecna]

[No, actually perishing would have been falling into the lava and catching aflame for minutes at a time. The heat was uncomfortable, and disorienting, and yes, even painful. But he’s in one piece, just worn and sweaty and—

Her magic sweeps over time, and he’s not so sweaty anymore.(He’s going to comment on this in a bit, but first-)

Turns his head on the pillow to look at her, weary.]

One thing after another, like they’re still having a laugh at our expense.

[The same old irritation flares, but looking at her, it doesn’t stick as prevalently as it might usually.]

But you helped me, just like you did with the shadows, so… thank you. You were clever with your magic.

[velluminous]

[ she has one hand out, as if to hold him down, should his irritation flare a little too much. the last time he was exceptionally angry about the hotel's antics, those shadows, he'd nearly dislocated her shoulder.

—oh. wait, no.

he's complimenting her. ]

I am always clever with it. Just because I am not speaking like everyone else does not mean I cannot brandish wit.

[vecna]

[Well. As he said once already: that was before.

And now, the anger is easy to let simmer in the face of exhaustion and her presence, having helped him escape that awful lava-studio.]

I know. I never doubted you. My clever wizard.

[And in case you think he was going to leave it on that very worn but weirdly affectionate note:]

But if you have cleaning magic, why does your room still look like this?

[velluminous]

[ clever wizard. his clever wizard. she thrills on that, chest fluttering tightly—an excited bird in the cage of her ribs.

and then.

WHACKS HIS SHOULDER. ]

I beg your pardon!

[vecna]

[OW??? HE’S WEAK, DON’T HIT HIM]

Hey-

[Is it not a valid question!!]

[velluminous]

It is my room. My things. I like it.

[vecna]

[He hasn’t the fire (ha) in him to argue the point.]

Fine.

[They will Talk About This Later.]

…then lie down with me.

[velluminous]

[ so, to her mind, she's won the argument. her hackles go down. ]

I want to sit.

[ in case they need relocating ]

Put your head in my lap.

[vecna]

[Will she still think she's won the argument when she finds Henry rearranging her room into a neater configuration one day.......

He shifts to do just that, laying his head in her lap, reminiscent of the time he did the same when he invited her to a certain floor for watercolors and wine -- though the situation this time is (was) more fraught, more weighted with the leftover exhaustion of agitation that was quick to flare and now quick to fade.

Henry does reach out with an arm to rest across her lap and just... hold on. One might call it clingy, but he'd never describe himself in such a way.]

[velluminous]

[ that's when she'll kill him :)

but now, here, they aren't at that moment yet. she curls her arm around his head in turn and plays with a few stray locks. coiling and curling them around her fingers. ]

You lived.

[vecna]

[He’ll have died for a good cause—

Closes his eyes.]

But if you hadn’t been there…

[velluminous]

But I was. So do not torment yourself with other outcomes.

[vecna]

I'm not.

[Tormenting. That's not... that's not what he does. He ruminates. He lets bitterness fester. That's not tormenting himself. (Right?)]

It's frustrating. It would have been repeat of something that happened not that long ago. [You know, being set aflame. And he hates feeling as though any portion of his life exists in a ceaseless, spinning cycle.]

[velluminous]

[ hol up ]

Mister Creel, do not tell me you were set on fire.

[vecna]

[well then he won’t say anything!!

Just kidding. After a beat, he replies.]

Not too long before I arrived in this hotel.

[velluminous]

[ don't freak out. don't freak out.

still, her fingers tighten in his hair without her so much as noticing it. ]

What happened.

[vecna]

[He feels that telltale tug at his scalp — wonders if this is the right moment to talk about this, without knowing exactly how to frame the situation. But he did bring it up, and to leave her hanging feels ill-advised.]

The veil between the dimension I’m stuck in and the “real” world is… thin. A few individuals found themselves crossing that threshold and making things difficult for me.

I recovered. [Because, you know, inhuman.] But it wasn’t pleasant.

[this is, in fact, a very one-sided explanation]