6.0 Test Drive Meme

[wellie]

6.0 Test Drive Meme

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Welcome to Well! See the first prompt for how your characters arrive in Well. Your character arrives with only a handful of memories, clad in a mix of Old Western clothes and clothes that might fit in at a renaissance fair, and no items from home.

Anyone is free to play on the TDM, but you need an invite to apply. Feel free to use these prompts, and interact with the arrival or locations. NPCs are around, but only say a certain set of phrases. TDMs can be considered game canon.

This TDM takes place from the first week of May onward, and can happen concurrently with other events during May and June. This will be the only TDM for May, June, and July.

Applications are open April 26th until May 1st, and May 27th until June 1st. Invites are available for friends of current players.

Arrival: Escape!

Content warnings: forced captivity, blood, eating eyes, drowning in sand, forced intimacy

The First Room

You wake up somewhere dark and damp. Maybe this is your first time waking up here, maybe it's your fourth, but the beginning is the same. You're in a small stone room. The only light comes from torches flicking on the walls. The room is bare except for a metal door. And you're not alone. You and someone (or someones) are here together, and you have to get out.

The door is locked, and to leave it you must just find one key. On the door is a note with a clue:

Freedom is hot!

The key is in fact in one of the torches! Depending on luck, you might find it on your first try, or your fourth. Find a way to extinguish the torches, and handle the hot, hot key to unlock the door.

After this, you find yourself in one of the following rooms. Choose one from the first set, then one from the second set, then one from the third set. You will always end in the final room. You must travel through five rooms to escape.

If you don't complete a task in five minutes, you will return to very first room and have to start again.

You can choose your own path, or comment below to have a random path set for you!

The Second Room

You find yourself in one of the following rooms:
1. There Ain't Room
2. Glitter Bomb
3. Riddles Three

1. There Ain't Room
In this room is a shooting game. There's a barrier with bebe guns attached to it, and at the far end are small cut outs of people. There's a sign on the far wall, in old-West style script, reading:

There Ain't Room

The cut outs look sort of familiar! There are cut outs of you and your compatriot(s), as well as some typical cowboy looking cut outs. Shoot your own cut out to escape! You each must shoot your own one, if you shoot each others', that person feels it as if they have been shot, and will start bleeding.

When you successfully hit all of your own cut outs, the floor under you opens up and you drop into the next room.

2. Glitter Bomb
As you walk through the doorway, you feel oddly.... sticky? Like your skin is covered in honey. Because it is! Yum.

In front of you is a room covered in glitter. There's so much glitter. You can't see a door, but you have to find a way out. Search the room to find the exit.

The exit is a trapped door in the floor. You'll need to make your way through the glitter, all the while it will stick to your very sticky skin. You'll need to dig a big enough path to get through, open the door and get into the next room! Too bad some glitter will come with you, and you'll still be sticky.

3. Riddles Three
A large hour glass in the middle of the room starts ticking down with sand as soon as you enter this room. One three of the walls are riddles engraved in the stone, and chalkboards in front of them. You must answer all three riddles correctly before the sand runs out to escape:

• Where waves kiss sand and breezes blow, where tropic dreams grow, I'm where you want to go. What am I? Answer: Kokomo
  
• With auburn locks and eyes of green, a rival, a threat, a beauty queen. Answer: Jolene
  
• With cowboy hats and boots that stride, no one told me where my horse I ride. Answer: Old Town Road

Once you answer correctly, the hour glass disappears, leaving a hole in the floor that you must jump through to exit.

The Third Room

Next, you find yourself in one of the following rooms:
A. Cry For Me
B. Love Me
C. Hold Me

A. Cry For Me
This room is beautiful and shiny, the walls made of crystals. In the middle of the room is a crystal plinth with a small crystal cup on it. In flowing script around the cup it reads:

Collect five tears

You must collect five tears in the cup to escape. Once you do, an entry way opens in the crystal in front of you.

B. Love Me
This room is very plain, and on a piece of paper dangling from a string in the middle of the room is the instructions for this room:

Exchange five sincere compliments each. Don't break eye contact.

You must do this within the alloted five minutes to escape. If the compliments are less than sincere, you may try again, but if you don't reach the five each by the end of the five minutes or if you break eye contact even once, you will be returned to the first room.

C. Hold Me
This room looks a lot like the pub in town. The walls are wood paneled and there's jangling piano music coming from--somewhere?

In the middle of the room is a mechanical bull, with a sign reading:

Stay on the bull together for 45 seconds.

If you succeed within the five minutes, you're free to continue on!

The Fourth Room

Next, you find yourself in one of the following rooms:
I. Blood
II. Sweat
III. Tears

I. Blood
This room is very tall. There's a rope dangling down one wall. On the wall it reads:

Climb!

And that's what you have to do. The word "Climb" starts to bleed. And then the walls start to bleed. The room will fill up with blood within five minutes, so you better get climbing!

At the top of the room is a hatch that will let you escape through a hatch in the ceiling.

II. Sweat
When you enter this room, one of you finds that you are alone. You're standing at the edge of a pool, and that pool is full of sand. It's also searingly hot in here. On the wall, it reads:

Rescue your partner!

One person is chained at the bottom of a swimming pool full of sand. A counter on the wall counts down until they will suffocate. Better get swimming!

Once you've rescued your partner, a door on the other side of the pool will open up. Better move fast to get there!

III. Tears
This room is dark, very dark. You can just barely see, except for a glow-in-the-dark sign reading:

Eat some eyes!

And that's what you need to do! In the walls are eyes. They're watching you. You must each eat an eye to continue on. Once you do, a door cracks open in the far wall.

The Fifth Room

No matter the path you took to get here, the final room is the same:

The last room you end up in, even though you enter through the same door, you find yourselves separated by a wall. There is a door for each of you at the far side of the room. You can hear each other, but you can't see each other. Each of you have a plinth in front of you, which reads:

Who should escape?

In front of you are the names of yourself and your partner(s). You place the name of the person you believe should escape in a slot in the table.

Once everyone has made a selection, the names will light up:

• If you all chose each other, your room lights up green.
• If you all chose yourselves, your room lights up green.
• If someone chose themselves, and someone else chose another person, the room of the person with the most "votes" lights up green. The others light up red.

If your room is green, when you open the final door, you've escaped! Welcome to Wellstone.

If your room is red, when you open the door, you find yourself back in the first room. Good luck!

When you escape, you step into the lobby of the Staywell. It's bright and airy with beautiful white stone. When you look behind you, it seems that you've stepped out of a supply closet. Weird!

The receptionist greets you as he always does, welcoming you home.

New characters arrive using this prompt. Characters can return from death from the previous cycle using this prompt. You can also just wake up and be in this prompt, so you can do this as many times as you like.

tl;dr:

• You wake up in an escape room! You must finish (at least) five rooms to escape. You have five minutes to finish each room. If you fail, you'll be taken back to the beginning of the dungeon.

It's alive!

Content warnings: public shaming

When you shake off the glitter and the sand, it might be time to head on down into Wellstone town. The air is full of a shimmering warmth that might be familiar to some. It's like the sun has been baked into the very stones and is radiating back up at you. Run-down buildings lean against each other for support, made out of mostly weathered stone with a few old boards here and there to keep structures up. Desiccated, skeletal fingers of dried-out ivy climb them, waving occasionally as you pass. Waving, and… whispering? For more information about how the town has changed, check out this month's Wellstone Post or read the Locations Page.

The town is alive with sneering, whispering voices. It's unclear where exactly they're coming from, but they're everywhere. Step into the Cactus Pad Tavern and you might hear a decisive no manners! spat sharply from the doorway. Make your way to the steaming bathhouse to wash off that honey, but be careful when you're undressing: you might just hear rude snickering from the air around you. Wow, the walls might say, your toes are so long. What weird feet!

The voices might interrupt a conversation at breakfast to make fun of something you said. Your mirror and your wardrobe might question your outfit choices. They're loud enough to be heard by everyone in a public space and seem to delight in saying cutting things at the worst possible moment. You don't recognize the voices, exactly, but they seem just familiar enough to really hurt, and the voices seem to know you well enough. They might even call you out when you tell a little white lie, or let everyone know exactly how loud you snore.

There's no way, seemingly, to get them to shut up, so... may as well get used to it?

tl;dr:

• The town is alive, and it is judging you. Your outfits, your words, your body, your habits: nothing is off-limits.
• The voices sound just familiar enough to feel like voices you know, but aren't able to be pinpointed to a single person.

Comments

[levindicated]

[Barnabas. The one in danger from the supernatural? Wait, why does he think that- Surely it must be the right Barnabas. How many Barnabases could there even be in the world? He does a double take.]


[Fuck.]

Fuck.

[There they were, back in that first room. ]

Shit, sorry. I just wasn't expecting you to say that. I... I think I know you, maybe. Even though I can't seem to remember anything at all.

[odinpusrex]

[Barnabas' expression shifts from the pleasant neutral it was, to suppressed disappointment as they end up in the first room again. He stares unblinkingly at Cid, his brow furrowing.]

You know of me?

[A thoughtful pause.]

Would Cid happen to be short for Cidolfus, then?

[levindicated]

I know of you, but I can't say I know a damn thing about you. Not really. King of what, by the way?

[He chews his cheek, the urge to do something boiling in his blood. But what? He pats himself down finding nothing.]

[He eyes Barnabas with something akin to suspicion. He knew something would befall this man. Or had already befell this man?Something supernatural. Well, this was pretty supernatural, wasn't it?]

It is short for Cidolfus. Cidolfus Telamon. What do you know about me?

[odinpusrex]

I do not know.

[He admits freely, sounding somewhat perplexed. He knows he's a king, is confident of it, yet...

The confirmation that he is indeed Cidolfus leaves him feeling conflicted, his otherwise limited emotions stirring slightly, as something lightly grips him. Would he name it hurt? No, perhaps an ache, though it feels distant, more a foregone discomfort than anything so immediately painful.

Th question leaves him silent for a moment, contemplating what he knows, but as he thinks on the nature of their supposed closeness, his mind begins to hurt.

How curious.]

Only that I knew you for a time, and there was a departure of some nature. The rest is blank.

[He does not know the nature of their previous closeness, or their relation to each other. If he is a king, would this man be...an advisor? No, he did not seem the type.]

It would seem what scarce fragments of memory we share proves our familiarity. Wanting though it is in detail.

[levindicated]

[He pokes his cheek with his tongue. Cid only has three thoughts in his head about this. This man was his king. He is Odin, whatever that means. And he is under some supernatural influence. But the problem is that none of that made very much sense to him.]

I think I know a few things about you, but they don’t make any sense to me.

[The other man was certainly unusual, but was he dangerous? He absolutely seemed to have some kind of supernatural influence, though he'd already been surprised by his quick healing. He shakes his head. They could be caught in here forever, and information was in short supply.]

Does the name Odin mean anything to you?

[He sighs and he paces a bit. He can easily connect the apparent fact that he departed with the knowledge that this man is no longer his king. He thinks about his moniker. Not very flattering.]

A departure on my part… I wish I knew what that meant. We must have hit our heads. Though… something tells me that would permanently injure you.

Dammit, but we can figure it out if we can get out of here. We must be friends of some sort, or we may as well act like it.

[He shakes his head.]

Alright, focus. Focus. That room with the eye contact and the compliments means business. We should rehearse, perhaps. I'm going to get sick of all of this before long.

[odinpusrex]

[As Cidolfus explains, Barnabas silently listens. Watching this man he apparently knows, who is apparently missing. There is some recognition of loss, even a pinch of it somewhere inside him, though it still feels distant and strange, like he is incapable of fully realizing the depth of it.

However, he's not sure what to make of the question. Odin? He has no memory of it, and thinking on it only serves to make his head pound. His eyes wincing slightly as he lingers on it for too long, trying to search for any familiarity in the name, or what it could mean. Nothing but that building ache in his head for his efforts, and so he merely shakes his head.]

It does not, I fear.

[But apparently this man, this Cidolfus, believes it is something tied to him? How strange.

At the assertion must be friends, Barnabas' gaze meets Cidolfus', and he holds his stare there for a long silent moment. Are they? If he left, would that not imply otherwise...or did he die? He doesn't linger on the thought, because once again it makes his head hurt trying to puzzle it out.

A mystery they can solve after they escape, and so he finally nods in agreement. They must first leave this place.]

Very well. We can sort out who we are later.

[Right, the compliments. He already figured out one, but the others? Hm. He stares at Cid, silently contemplating. Certainly that's not off putting.]

[levindicated]

[Cid starts pacing around the other man, compiling his compliments.]

Well… I’m afraid without knowing much about you, I might have to resort to unwelcome flattery. You’re not going to punish me for it, are you?

[Since, in either case, he was incredibly intimidating in both size and keenness of his gaze. And invulnerable apparently.]

[odinpusrex]

[He offers Cid a look of disbelief, though the expression is hardly worthy of the name.]

If it frees us, then it is of no consequence. Besides, it is not as though you were the one responsible for our shared imprisonment.

[Granted, he isn't actually fully certain what he means by "unwelcome flattery". Or the extent that Cid might be willing to plunge.]

cw: ss……sexual harassment?? Very toward compliments.

[levindicated]

Well, it demanded sincerity, so you’ll have to pardon me. I called you handsome, didn’t I? I don’t think I can just say that five times in a row, soo… A little imagination is in order.

[He finishes looking him up and down as he paces around him stopping back in front of him. He goes to hang his elbow on something that isn’t there. How vexing. He rubs his shoulder.]

You’ve got an absolutely magnificent arse. Really lovely shape on that thing. Gorgeous chest, too. You look strong as an ox. Stronger, maybe, like you could throw one over your shoulders and take it down a mountain.

[Cid licks his lower lip. He doesn’t wanna say his last one, but he couldn’t help but notice the way the front of his pants fit on him. He shakes his head.]

And you have very soft looking hair. There. There’s five.

lmfaoo

[odinpusrex]

[Well.

If Barnabas were one to be impacted by things like...embarrassment, perhaps that might have given him more of a rise, a bit of a fluster. A lesser man might have been off-put by it, but for him he is simply left considering how these are apparently sincere, which means that this man has been harboring these thoughts the entire time they've been dealing with these inane trials.

Still, it is rather much, but Barnabas simply shakes his head with a wry smirk.]

I see you were not speaking in jest.

[Now it's his turn, isn't it? He looks Cidolfus over once more, then flicks his gaze to lock with his. He cannot say he is particularly practiced in giving compliments—or at least, he does not think so? It certainly does not feel like something that comes naturally.]

As spoken prior, you likewise cut a handsome figure. Your slender waist well complements your impressively broad shoulders. Your voice rich in its depth, making it rather soothing to listen to. You have a roguish countenance, to which I imagine others find compelling in its charm.

[Others he says...

Anyway, he's down to the last one.]

Though, beyond the shallow and inconsequential, it is plain that you are possessed of both an intelligent and inquisitive mind, if your swift deduction of those miniature cannons are aught to go by.

[levindicated]

[He can’t help but blush and chuckle as he rubs the short hairs in the back of his head. Such things coming out of the mouth of a man with a likewise very pleasant voice.]

…Good. All rehearsed, then? Let’s get to it. … Though I can’t help but notice how much better you compliments are than mine. Ah… Not that it matters much. But you have quite the way with words, Your Majesty.

[Smash cut sequence of Cid taking off his coat, thwacking torches, recovering the key, then dealing with the shooting gallery. Easy. Cid sighs. He reaches for cigars that aren’t there, but he doesn’t know why he did that at all anyway. An impulse gnaws at his nerves.]

Alright. I hope you remember your lines.

[Cid turns to face Barnabas, keeping his head tilted towards him as he rocks his shoulders.]

[odinpusrex]

Feeling inadequate? Worry not, your compliments will serve just as well.

[He certainly were more outwardly affected by these things, wasn't he? Quite the difference from himself, but he didn't find it a problem. At the notion that his compliments were better, he has nothing to say. Truly that hardly matters so long as it allows them to progress.

Though, being called Your Majesty is a little odd in how natural it feels. Knowing he is a king does not make him feel like he is one, though he also doesn't seem to feel much regardless. Maybe that has nothing to do with his lack of kingly context.

Something to contemplate later.

Journeying to their last point is simple enough, knowing well the answers certainly speeds things up. As such, when they are in the room once more, and Cid addresses him about his lines...he realizes what had truly ruined their first attempt: the broken eye contact. Which is why Barnabas wordlessly stalks forward, his expression intensely focused as he grabs Cid by the side of the head with both of his hands to keep him focused and looking at him.]

That I do. Do you?

[That certainly sounds like a challenge, but he doesn't allow him to answer before he begins:]

You cut a handsome figure, your slender waist complements your impressively broad shoulders. You are possessed of a soothing voice rich in its depth, and you bear a roguish charm—though what towers above all is your intelligent and inquisitive mind.

[levindicated]

[It is good that Barnabas grabbed his head to still him, because as those compliments slide out from between his lips with that unbroken eye contact, Cid fails to fight his own impulse to try to turn his head. He’d never realized quite how much he moved until the moment it was restrained. Though his memory had an awful lot of holes, so that didn’t count for much.]

[But he was hardly just some blushing virgin, right? Good God, get it together, man! He takes a breath and chuckles as his lip quirks.]

And you— You’re handsome. [He reaches up to place a gloved hand on his jaw, unthinking. It just seemed right, plus it made him feel less absurd with the other man holding his head. He brushes his jaw with his thumb, fighting with his attention to look away from his eyes.]

[He goes quiet for a moment.]

[odinpusrex]

[...Fortunately Barnabas has a bit more restraint than Cid, and when the other man touches his jaw, stroking it with his thumb, he only pinches his brow instead of breaking eye contact to look at the interloping hand. The silence falling between them is...odd, and he cannot help but wonder what the hold up is?

Well, other than it's clear Cid is affected by what he said...but still.]

Cidolfus.

[He chastises with a thread of annoyance in his otherwise measured tone, his hands squeeze his head a little. A small threat if he doesn't get his shit together, perhaps. They cannot just stand here in silent appreciation when they have a trial to complete.]

[levindicated]

Fuck, sorry. Ah- Right, what was it?

[He swallows thickly.] You’ve got a really nice arse. Ah… And a gorgeous chest. Voluptuous, really.

[He fights hard with himself to not allow his eyes to wander. He feels a bit of inspiration, going off script. He’d forgotten what he’d meant to say from several minutes ago anyway.]

Your lips look soft. And your c- [His teeth click together, literally biting his words off.]

Right. Your hair. Your hair also looks soft.

[Cid’s gaze has gone a bit soft in the intensity of this exercise.]

Right. I’d meant to say you look strong. You could probably crush my skull, couldn’t you?

[odinpusrex]

[For some reason hearing that while he's holding Cid's head between his hands and beholding the soft look in those green eyes of his makes this whole thing feel different from the little practice round. He cannot explain it, and doesn't care to investigate it, either. Besides, he can guess what Cid cut himself off from saying, and he rather just leave that be.]

Perhaps I could. Let us hope we are never in a position to discover the truth of it.

[There is an audible click, however, and it seems to have sounded from the room's only exit. Barnabas waits a moment, not wanting to test fate too quickly, but then he releases his companion's head from his grasp and breaks eye contact.

And would you look at that! They didn't get sent back to the first room.]

It would seem we succeeded. Come.

[And there he goes, walking towards the exit as if they hadn't just lobbed compliments at each other while looking deeply into each other's eyes while touching each other's faces. Barnabas doesn't care to think too deeply on it, more focused on the task at hand.]

[levindicated]

[Cid shakes off the humiliation of all of that, simply hoping they wouldn’t get sent back there too soon. But by now he’d had the requisite practice. Cid feels his heart thump in his chest. Who was this man, really?]

[But he doesn’t have time to think about that, because as his eyes adjust to the next room, he reads the word aloud:]

Climb. Climb? I mean, with how my shoulder feels I’d rather not, but— Hold on, is that blood?

[odinpusrex]

[Barnabas is looking up at the hatch above them when Cid mentions blood. His attention snapping to where the other man might be looking—and indeed, that is blood. In fact, it's a lot of blood.

If they aren't quick, that'll make this impossible to climb, considering how slick blood is.]

We have not the luxury of choice. Prepare yourself, Cidolfus.

[Barnabas crosses what little space there is between him and Cid before he grabs him by the arm. Turning his own body, he pulls Cid's front to his back. Placing Cid's arm around his shoulder, he then reaches back for the other to join with the first as he bends his knees to then angle Cid onto his back into a pack strap carry as he stands once more.]

If you cannot climb, I will carry us both. Do not let go.

[And once Cid is secure, he will grab the rope and begin climbing.]

[levindicated]

Prepare myself- [Barnabas is quick, that much is certain. And he’s as strong as he meagerly threatened just a minute ago. Cid laces his fingers in front of Barnabas’ body. He knows it will be a secure hold as long as he doesn’t strangle the other man.]

[Though this worries him little, considering what he had already seen the other endure. There was no need to get manly about only to drown in more blood than he could even properly quantify.]

I won’t.

…

Thank you, Barnabas.

[And then he decides to keep his gob shut and not fucking distract the man. He clenches his jaw and holds on for dear life.]

[odinpusrex]

[Barnabas doesn't say anything to the thanks, choosing to focus on the task at hand. That blood isn't going to wait for them, and so Barnabas is likewise choosing not to dally any longer. Fortunately his muscles are not just for show, and so with a proper grip on that rope he begins his climb. He's quick, inhumanly so, and the physical effort required for this might daunt other men, but not Barnabas.

Honestly, the blood barely has the chance to catch up by the time Barnabas has them both to the top. How's that for supernatural, Cid?

Once they're at the hatch, Barnabas swiftly forces it open, allowing Cid to climb through first—since it doesn't seem big enough for them to both go through at the same time. Whoever designed this clearly didn't intend for there to be any cling-ons.]

[levindicated]

[Cid scrambles up over his head, trying to be both careful about his head and fingers while also being quick. As soon as he gets his knees, then feet onto the floor, he stands and turns. Dizzyingly, there is no way backwards.]

[He turns in a circle, he is walled off into a hallway with a message at the far end. Who should escape?

There he reads the names: Barnabas Tharmr, Cidolfus Telamon. And yet there is only one slot.]

Oh, what the fuck?! After all that? I should have guessed that the sick bastard who designed this place would end it like this as well!

[Of course he wanted out. If it was by deservedness, the other man literally carried him on his back. Yet at the same time, he could probably endure it again. Cid might be stuck here forever. Sweat drips down his neck.]

[odinpusrex]

[How odd. That he would find himself alone after they entered through the same hatch shouldn't be a surprise, yet he finds himself surprised all the same. Following along the wall towards the door, he pauses when he hears Cid. So the other man wasn't actually gone, simply on the other side of this barrier.

He spares it a glance, as if he might see him through it, but then his attention falls upon the instructions and the choices. The answer is obvious, they both would wish for themselves to be free, and logically it makes sense to vote for oneself, but that might not be the test.

Perhaps this is a test of selflessness, trapping those who would sooner throw their companion to the wayside for their own freedom.

Clever.]

It is but a trial like the others before. Think carefully and choose wisely.

[As he says this, he makes his choice: Cidolfus Telamon.]

[levindicated]

[Strangely, hearing the other man’s voice soothes him. Somewhere deep down, he knows that it doesn’t always. When he tries to grab a hold of that thought and trace it back, his head begins to hurt. He eases back off of it. This was likely timed, like all the rest.]

…Very well.

[Of course the other man wouldn’t have any advice for him, it’s not like he’d seen this either. But the trials before tended to value honesty and self-sacrifice. So why should this be any different?

Cid picks Barnabas Tharmr to put into the slot. He steps back and watches the light turn green and breathes a sigh of relief, though he doesn’t fully understand why. Why the green should mean anything at all to him. He goes through the door without hesitation and… ]

[And ends up in a lobby of some sort. He turns about, brow furrowed, scrutinizing the door he just came out of. As if it should make any sense at all…]

[odinpusrex]

[Barnabas stares up at the light that also turns green. Without context, he isn't quite sure what it means, yet he has a suspicion of what it might mean. That meaning being more or less confirmed when he steps through the door and finds himself in a lobby, Cidolfus likewise with him.]

It worked. Good.

[He doesn't need to ask who Cidolfus picked, he's fairly certain he knows, if the trial is what he thinks it was. Not that it matters, seeing as they are now beyond it, and whatever else those vexing rooms were about. Now he needs to figure out where they are, what is this place—

Before he even has the chance to truly question it, they're both being greeted by the receptionist behind the counter who asks for their reservation. Barnabas levels a suspicious stare at them. Yet, he feels somewhat compelled to answer them.

How strange...]

Barnabas Tharmr.

[Sure enough the receptionist seems to know who that is, and finds him his key, offering it over to him before turning to Cid, waiting for his answer. Barnabas takes it and regards it with that same sort of suspicion before pocketing it. Even if this feels...correct, it is still bizarre. Everything about the last hour has been.]

[levindicated]

Cidolfus Telamon.

[He receives his key and regards the other man. He chews his lip in absence of anything else to do with his mouth, which feels hopelessly lonely.]

…I picked you, by the way. I couldn’t have done it without you, so… Thank you. I’m glad you’re out. You earned it for certain, and you saved my hide more than once.

I’m sure you’re tired. Or I sort of hope you are, or otherwise you’re a sight more terrifying than I initially thought. In either case, we’ve earned our rest.

[He looks around this unfamiliar setting, brows furrowing.]

Though I’m not sure I can get too comfortable somewhere that’s got a little closet to Hell tucked in the front rooms.