HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME

[unstill_life]

[ you have been here long enough

the overgrown level, the third one, may be familiar to you; plants abound vines dangle heavily from the walls and ceilings. but ... not everything is familiar. there's certainly more roses growing in the plantlife than before, and if you look closely at the shelves instead of skin-bound books on human anatomy they're all books on magic, on lies and deception.

beneath your feet, too, is a road of coral stones, iris blossoms peaking out from where they grow around and underneath them. in the distance you see a large golden set of doors. you're almost there ]

Comments

[artofthievery]

Wha--

[pausing for a moment to take in his surroundings, mouth curving into a confused frown, before he takes a few steps forward on the pathway towards the doors]

Where. . .?

[unstill_life]

[ the doors do not respond. ]

[artofthievery]

. . . weird. But I guess I've seen weirder.

[takes in a deep breath, and heads straight for the doors]

[unstill_life]

[ they look heavy but not impossibly so, if you wish to try opening them ... ]

[artofthievery]

[once he's close enough, he's reaching out to grab the handle and tug them open, yup. heavy or not, he's putting all of his muscle into it]

[unstill_life]

[ THEY ....




do not budge. you have a sudden feeling -- you need something else. you need to give them a wish, a desire. ]

[artofthievery]

[grumps and gives them one more tug, before he slumps against them tiredly]

Haa. . . that's everything this place is about, isn't it. . . I want-- I want--

[sounds a bit frustrated]

. . . I want the darkness-- the one that's eating Aather, the one that'd attack our worlds if we let it-- I want it gone.

[unstill_life]

[ ... the doors swing open, silently.

it's dark inside. you can only see the faint outlines of tables ... and a well-lit pedestal, upon which a thick cord necklace with a Coral key has been placed. ]

[artofthievery]

[lifts his head when the doors open, and--]







[freezes]

[GIVE HIM A MOMENT AS HE STARES AT THAT KEY]

[unstill_life]

[ you have a moment! ]

[artofthievery]

[and then it's like something snaps, and he darts through the doors and rushes up to the pedestal as fast as he can, reaching out to snatch that key]

[unstill_life]

[ when you hold it -- it throbs as if with released energy, and all at once your skills and abilities are returned, the body-memory of them restoring and filing in as if you had never lost them in the first place. ]

[artofthievery]

[cradles the key close to his chest as he ducks his head, taking a moment to adjust to the new stores of knowledge and information that were just returned to him]

. . . better.

[unstill_life]

[ it feels like -- it's about time. you're so close to being done here, having you wish completed, leaving ...

but just as it feels like you're about to leave entirely you awaken, the cold of the stone still a sensation in your hand and the memories more vivid than dreams normally are. you know where that golden door is, however; you know it will be here if you leave your room, even if that path is not.

you know you will find this key behind those golden doors. ]