1 - dictation/action

[deathscript]

[As the leader of a rather infamous hacker group, Masahiro has always known that he'd get himself into trouble one day. His tendency to poke his head where it didn't belong has made him more than a few enemies, after all, and he's no stranger to being kidnapped. That's why, when he wakes up in a room that is definitely not his own, he isn't surprised. He's alarmed, yes, and afraid of what's to come, but given his reputation, he can't say it's unexpected.

What is unexpected is his realization that the doors are unlocked. Upon exiting his room and being greeted with the gigantic hallways of a castle, his mouth drops. Wow. He's gonna need a smoke for this, assuming that whoever brought him here was kind enough to leave him with his possessions.

Masahiro reaches for his pocket, and sure enough, he finds what he's looking for. However, he also finds something he wasn't expecting - a small journal.

Huh. Maybe there's a message for him inside.

When he opens it up to flip through the contents, though, he's met with more than just text - he's met with an array of voices. That's... new and interesting.

Well, assuming that this place is bugged and his kidnappers are observing him from afar...]

A castle and a talking book with my name on it, huh? Pretty elaborate. It's a lot better than the last kidnapping attempt, I must say.

[The sound of turning pages fills the air, and an appreciative whistle can be heard.]

Someone must have put a lot of effort into this. I suppose I should be flattered, but this entire thing seems like an unnecessary amount of work for a small fry like me. Why go through all this trouble?

[There's a temporary silence that's broken by the soft flick of a lighter. When he next speaks, his voice seems somewhat muffled for a brief moment.]

If this is about Algon Soft, well... I would hate to disappoint, but I thought we'd already established that this method was no good. Sorry, but you won't be getting your gun-type PC back this way.

Comments

dictated

[willrememberthat]

[Another new person. Clementine should probably be doing something else--sleeping, maybe--but it's been a while since she played greeter.]

You haven't been kidnapped by anyone.

[deathscript]

I haven't? [He's not following.

Wait. Wait. The last thing he remembers prior to coming here is being in a lot of pain, so...]

This the afterlife, then?

[willrememberthat]

[Quickly:]

No, no! It's not that. You were brought here by the castle. [Not EXACTLY kidnapping if it's by a castle, right?] You're... maybe not dead. Is that what you remember?

[Dying, that is.]

[deathscript]

Well, I can't say for sure one way or the other. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to make it, though.

[There's a long pause.]

I was... brought here by the castle? Sorry, would you mind explaining that a bit more?

[willrememberthat]

Oh. I'm sorry.

[He wouldn't be the first.]

The castle is magical. Everyone here is from somewhere else. Different worlds. Dead people and living people.

[deathscript]

[Well, isn't that something.]

What are we here for?

dictated;

[dgaf]

Don't forget the decoys.

[deathscript]

I don't think I've had a run-in with those yet.

[dgaf]

Now you have. Me.

Dictated

[babyaliendaddy]

Dude, you don't know the fucking half of it.

[A pause.] ...you've got a gun that's a computer?

[deathscript]

Something like that. It's not mine to give, though. Not anymore.

[babyaliendaddy]

So, what, were you intrusted with this solemn weapon and all that jazz? Because, y'know, I've been there.

[deathscript]

No, it was nothing like that, although that sounds like it makes for an interesting story.

The gun-type PC is just something I happened to pick up off the streets. It turned out to be quite the sought-after item. Before I'd even had a chance to figure out what it was or how it worked, I found myself being tailed by all kinds of shady folks.

[babyaliendaddy]

Actually it wasn't. I kinda just fell down a hole and there was my mystical sword ... which is apparently how you found your magic pc gun. So what does yours do?

[deathscript]

Summons demons, apparently. It's pretty useful in a fight, or so I'm told.

[pompous_today]

I suppose you would be skeptical if I said this was not a kidnapping... unless you'd think a magical castle to be capable of such?

[deathscript]

I guess it'd depend on one's definition of "kidnapping." That term's always been a bit nebulous.

[This is his second time hearing someone refer to the castle as being almost something sentient, so he's just going to roll with it. He's seen demons and gods roaming the floors of a microelectronics plant, so maybe a magical castle isn't all that crazy.]

What's a magical castle need with a guy like me?

[pompous_today]

If it helps, at the very least I can say that none of us were brought here willingly. Seems like an abduction to me.

I have been here for more than a year and I still sometimes ask myself that question. I've heard others say the castle feeds off our emotions- and off what it takes from us when we arrive.

[deathscript]

You mean to tell me that not a single person's native to this place?

[Someone's got to have built the castle to begin with... unless it's a magical self-building castle. Man, he can only imagine what it was like for the very first people - or even person - to be brought here, then. He should really consider himself lucky that he's able to get answers from those who have already familiarized themselves with the place. Even if said answers sound completely ridiculous to him.]

That's... quite the conclusion. A sentient castle that eats emotions. It sounds like the plot of a fantasy novel.

[pompous_today]

I have yet to meet one here in the castle, at the very least. There are lands beyond that we sometimes venture toward, which have their own natives, but... nobody here in the castle is to my knowledge.

[Simon can't help but chuckle at that.]

That is what it feels like, doesn't it? Sometimes I still am a little thrown by the absurdity of it all.

dictated;

[both_neither]

You know, I'm not sure what it says about this place that it seems like half the people that show up here immediately assume they've been kidnapped.

[deathscript]

It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one who immediately jumped to that conclusion.

And to think, all of this could be avoided if the castle only included an FAQ or an instruction manual at the front of these journals.

[both_neither]

I've heard people have tried something like that, but I think it prefers that initial bout of confusion.

[deathscript]

This is about how the castle feeds off of our emotions, right? I'm... still finding it difficult to wrap my mind around that.

[both_neither]

It will make more sense after a couple of months. Or you'll forget about it and get on with your life. One of the two.