trusthell | Welcome.

You last remember feeling safe.

You don't know what caused that response, now that you think about it; you can't remember what you were doing before the warm, comfortable feeling came over you, a sensation somewhere between relief and the light contentment that comes with the knowledge that you're safe enough to sleep and god, are you ready to. It feels like you may have been sleeping for a while before this, even; your limbs are heavy in the memory, and you recall how difficult it was to open your eyes.

Turning your head is likewise difficult, it feels kind of like it's full of sand. Weighted-down by sleep. It's so much easier to remain still, and so you do, and before you haze out again you can vaguely hear a voice.

It's no one you recognize, and it sounds strange and vaguely distorted as you start to drift off again.

"Everything'll be fine."

There isn't an answer that you can hear; the voice speaks once more.

"...you ready?"

You don't remember what you wanted to say to that. Always, maybe. Or Ready for what? Or perhaps What's happened to me?

But none of it matters, because consciousness slips away from you too quickly for you to respond.

---

You wake up some time later; the comfortable, safe feeling from earlier certainly isn't dampened any by the bed you wake up in. Whether you like it soft as a cloud or firm enough to support the most finicky of spines, the bed you're in is nice, and it's pretty much exactly what you've been looking for in a mattress.

Shame the rest of the room is probably going to be a bit jarring when you wake up properly.

The room you're in is completely unfamiliar, all concrete and steel and almost nothing that makes it yours - but there's a trunk near the bed and there's what looks like a smartphone sitting on the trunk, and you might want to grab that before you leave the room. Trying to text or call out won't do anything for the time being, unfortunately, but it's something. A lifeline, maybe.

If you're looking to see if anyone is here with you, maybe you can find someone as you wander through the main corridor; after all, there are a few places to explore here, even if the bulk of the place is pretty much a straight shot down the center. If you're looking to gather, the dining hall is probably the best place for it, as it's large enough to accommodate all of you.

Wherever you choose to go, however, there are a set of rules posted in every room; the far wall of the dining hall, across from the entrances, also has a bulletin board with twenty-seven pictures, along with some...interesting information, posted on it. The board is large enough for all of you to look at it, but you might not want to try to get at anything posted there; just like the rules, there's glass in front of it, and it's looking to be extremely shatterproof.

Sorry about that.

There's one more thing you'll notice on your wanderings through the corridor – there are no windows, and there are no doors that can possibly lead outside.

Looks like you're trapped. Might as well get to know those that are here with you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah. Books on blastia.

[He steps back after throwing the most recent book aside, looking at the shelves higher up, then standing on his tiptoes to see if he can get a better look at them.]

You haven't seen any, have you?

Blastia? [ She furrows her eyebrows. ]

I wouldn't be able to tell you even if I'd seen one. I've never heard of it.

Really? But they're everywhere. Everyone uses them.

[That gets him to stop staring at the books and turn to stare at her.]

The guilds, the Empire... I'm pretty sure there isn't anywhere in the world without blastia.

...You must be reading too many comics.

[ Because why else would he be mentioning "the Empire"? ]

I get that they're addicting, but you should lay off of them for a while...

Comics?

[. . .]

What the hell, I'm being serious! Look, this is a blastia!

[He then promptly holds his metal left arm out in explanation.]

I just don't know what type it is or how it works or anything or why it's even on me in the first place because last time I checked I wasn't missing an arm!

[calm down zagi]

How long have you been asleep?

[ Wait. Actually that reminds her of something... ] You know, I wasn't wearing this outfit last I remember.

No idea. I shouldn't even be here though. I was in the middle of fighting some guy. He couldn't have beaten me.

[And it's not like the Knights stood a chance either.]

You were in the middle of fighting someone? Wouldn't you remember getting knocked out?

Yeah, I'd imagine so. But even if that guy did manage to knock me out, he's not here.

So you think he made his escape or something?

Yeah. That guy... I don't think he's behind all this. He's one of those goody two-shoes kind of Knights, so he's not involved. I'm just not sure what the hell happened to get me caught instead.

Beats me. I don't know why I got caught either. I wasn't fighting anyone or anything.

What were you doing? Was it anything important?

It was just like any other day. We just wrapped up club activities and were going home.

Huh... So it wasn't even anything different. I don't get it. Do you have any idea why someone would want to bring you here?

I don't know why they'd want me here specifically... or how they even managed it since I wasn't alone.

It's pretty weird. I can see why they'd want me, but I was in a castle full of Imperial Knights. And you know, the candidates for Emperor. So... not sure why I'd be their first pick with all that to consider.

Hmm... what are you good at? Is there something you're better at than anyone else? Maybe it's that.

Fighting. I'm the best where I'm from. I've never been been hurt.

[...that's a pretty bold claim to make, but Zagi's stating it like it's a fact. It doesn't sound like it's just a boast.]

Oooh, impressive. [ She isn't mocking him though, far from it. ]

Sounds like a good enough reason to bring you here to me.

Yeah, exactly. Still, picking me over the prince and princess? Seems kinda weird to me.

I'd say they took you over them so they wouldn't cause a big panic, but you're still around a lot of important people. They would notice you missing, right? So that would be a mistake on the kidnapper's side... which means there's more to it than that.

[ And that leads her to a dead end. ]

Hmm... Well, not really? My boss is kind of important, I guess, but aside from him I don't think anyone would really care that I went missing. And he'd only care because he'd be out a damn good fighter.

[He doesn't seem bothered by any of that. That's just the way things are.]

Then maybe your fighting ability is the reason why you were taken after all... There'd be a big panic if the prince or something was kidnapped, right?

Yep, definitely. I'm pretty sure the prince and the princess are backed by different parts of the Empire? I dunno. All I know is there isn't an Emperor right now and something happening to either of them would cause a fuss sooo... yeah. It'd make sense to go for someone else if they wanted to avoid causing a large panic.

On the other hand, they'd get a hell of a lot more ransom money from a prince or a princess. I'm not exactly rich.

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