Empyrea

[NativeForeigner]

"'At sounds fai' ta me, it does, it does." Maria clarified. She held her index finger to her cheek, now as she spoke. She began to pace and twirl as she spoke.
"Well, I don' see why we hafta only play one game, I don', I don'. 'Ow abou' we pla' a few. Go a'oun' and take turns, ewe know? I pick a game, 'en ewe, 'en ewe, 'en me again." she explained.  

[Magroodles]

Lyon looked at the girl as she mentioned the games again. It seemed like it would be something to do. But he didn't really know any games. Just the outdoor kind of games that he would see children playing every now and again. And half of the time he didn't even know how they went about playing those kinds of games. Most of his childhood was spent practicing, and he liked that, so it really didn't bother him that he didn't play with the kids as much as any normal kid would.

And then there was the subject of riddles. Sure, he might be able to come up with an answer to a few of them, but he knew for sure that they were hard at times, and he wasn't exactly a mastermind. And if they were playing for something, which is what he was afraid of, he didn't want to get it wrong. Like, what if they were playing for their souls or something like that. Like, for every one that they get right the sooner they could get out of this house, but if they get it wrong they will take a part of their souls or something. Yeah, that kind of seemed a little out of place, but he really didn't know what to think was possible here any longer. After all, they did just transport, or something like that.

Maria seemed to think about his question for a while. What would they play for? That's what he was asking. He was kind of scared if they would be playing for something. Then the girl mentioned something less material. Oh no, she was going to go for their soul! That or their memories or something!

Lyon opened his mouth to protest, already shaking a bit about the thoughts. Sometimes his mind got a little bit ahead of the situations, which ended up like this at times. But before he was able to say anything, thankfully Maria spoke up again.

"Knowledge?" he asked. Yes, that is exactly what he was looking for. Suddenly this game idea seemed to become quite a good thing. They would be able to find out what is going on if they won. That would be a great thing! But then his mind wandered to thinking again. Be it for good or bad. "I like that, but what happens if we lose?"

Lyon's ears picked up Elian's voice when she spoke up again. He turned his head to look at her when she asked him what they should do. He sighed in thought, looking back at Maria as if she would hold the answer to whether they should take up these games or not. "Uh, well," he said thinking again.

Once again, Maira spoke up to help him make up his mind. She mentioned that they wouldn't play just one game, and on top of that, she said that both Lyon and Elian would be able to pick as well. They could choose something they could win at and get some knowledge. This would be a good thing. Lyon let a smile come across his face as he thought about it.

"Alright! Sounds fun. I think we can do this!" he said gaining a brand new confidence.  

[NativeForeigner]

Maria smiled and clapped her hands together and hopped up and down, "Alrigh'! Gla' ta 'ear et!" she giggled, "Well, if ewe looose, the' I get knowledge from ewe!"
She continued to giggle, excited about playing some games, "So 'ho wants ta go first?" she asked.  

[Alastriona Estelle]

"Knowledge from us? I'm afraid you have us at a disadvantage..." Elian thought to herself as she carefully watched the bouncing, giggling Maria, fighting back the urge to raise an eyebrow at the strange behavior. This woman seemed to be in rather high spirits despite having her "people" be in some sort of mortal peril. Nonetheless, she gave herself and Lyon a chance to find some answers, and Elian didn't want to blow that opportunity.

Looking over to Lyon, she gave him a small half smile, feeling rather silly about the entire situation of playing a game. When was the last time she had even played a game?

Seeing and hearing Lyon act so confident undoubtedly raised Elian's spirits, but she still felt a lingering sense of wariness from the entire situation. Would things really be so simple? Play a few child's games in order to obtain knowledge, without any real repercussions of their own? Maria seemed so determined to withhold information before, that this seemed rather shady, even if it sounded like a good deal. Were they really risking nothing?

Elian still couldn't help but smile as she caught Lyon's excited expression, raising an eyebrow at him before letting out a small laugh. Perhaps she worried too much, and merely needed to relax a bit and enjoy whatever game they would start playing first.

"Oh, I don't know, what do you want to play Lyon?" She asked, giggling softly after she had spoken. It felt like she were in kindergarten, asking a schoolmate to play outside.  

[OiM-Martin]

"Games, dear sister? Really? Well, if it's what you want to do."

A pale, rather refined-looking man stepped into the room. "I say, is good Munk here yet? We have been waiting a rather long time."

He ignored the others in favor of Maria.  

[NativeForeigner]

Maria turned about and pouted at Martin, "Aw, c'mon, Ma'tin, 'ave a 'lil fun, ye! Ewe shood join us, ewe shoo'!"
She contorted her mouth and nose slightly as she thought about the whereabouts of Munk, "No, 'e isn' 'ere yet, 'e 'as been a whi', enit? Maybe we shood jus' go wit'ou' 'im, 'e can ca'ch up."  

[Magroodles]

Lyon listened to the girl with curiosity. He figured that it would be a even trade that way, but all the same he really didn’t know if it was fair for her. What information did they have to give her? After all, they knew nothing that would be able to help her, for as far as he knew that is. Still, he wasn’t going to argue. After all, the information that they wanted to know was on the line, he wasn’t about to just let that go. So instead he listened up to when Elian spoke up. It seemed that she too had the same thought on her mind. How Maria was at a disadvantage when it came to the information that is.

He looked back at the girl. From the half smile he figured that she was like him. They did not know many games, especially at their age now. What was the last game that they played? And when? Lyon knew well enough that he spent his lift playing the violin instead of games so he was busy with that. And then of course Elian was a doctor. That took a lot of studying. She too must have been busy with work instead of finding time to play these games. So, maybe Maria wasn’t at a disadvantage. Maybe everything evened out this way. She would get a lot of info, knowing Lyon’s own skills at these “Games”, but not very important information. While if they won, they would get more valuable information. Sounded fair to him.

But from the looks of it, Elian started to catch on. Maybe, if they worked together, it would turn out all right. He was actually getting a little excited. Things would soon be unveiled and he would be able to understand what everything was about around here. He smiled at her question. What would he like to play? Well, there was only one game that really came to mind for him. But before he could answer the girl’s question another voice rang out in the room.

Lyon turned a head to look over at the other figure that was in the room. He drew silent, but the man seemed to be ignoring them anyway. He wasn’t a threat, was he? Still, Lyon didn’t want to do anything to upset the man in anyway. So instead he just stood off to the side and watched. He listened to the man’s words. So, he was waiting for the same person that they were? Was this someone that Maria knew? Well, he did call her sister, so perhaps they were. Lyon couldn’t quite say that he knew this “family” well enough, and he wasn’t about to try. It was bad enough trying to figure out what was going on in the present right now.

Lyon listened to the conversation that the two held out without him or Elian. So, this man was Martin or something? Still, Lyon heard them talking about this Munk person and how they were deciding if they should start or not without him. Now would be as good a time as ever to state his opinion, he figured.

"If you don’t mind. All we want is some information. If this Munk person is not very crucial to getting it, then I don’t think we really mind if you start without him or not. But if we must wait, we will. Whatever gets us the most correct information. After all, we’ve been waitinf for a while now, and it hasn’t killed us yet," perhaps that was not the best wording at a time like this, "So, I think we can wait a little while longer."

He turned his gaze back to the female that he had been with. "What do you think?"  

[OiM-Martin]

Smoothly cutting into Lyon's talking, Martin said, "I do say, we should begin without dear Munk."

He looked to Maria first. "I shall join in whatever games you insist on, dear sister. I play for your pleasure."

Next was Lyon. "Munk is our dear brother, who is known for his colorful personality. I do say, I enjoy playing games with him. He is such a jolly good sport."

Speaking to no one in particular, he said, "We shall start the games without dear Munk. Then, he shall join us upon arrival." He clapped twice to signal the start.

Of course, at that moment, his head tilted to the side and he groaned. "I say, more of these type?" He stepped to the side as 5 individuals landed on the ground where he had been standing, looking studiously away from them.  

[NativeForeigner]

((Wow, my post totally didn't go through last night, sorry))

Maria looked up along with Martin as the ceiling opened up into blackness. Several figures were seen hurdling downwards towards the room.

"Oh my!" she exclaimed excitedly as she spread her arms and moved everyone against the walls.

the falling guests watched as the plush carpeting accelerated towards them and showed no signs of stopping. Suddenly, Maria, Martin, and the others already standing in the room found themselves somewhat elevated as an invisible air cushion formed beneath their feet.

The falling guests found themselves coming to a complete and abrupt stop mere inches away from the carpet. Then the ceiling closed back up.

The cushion was gone in another instant and everyone fell to the floor.

Even in the moment their faces weren't buried in the carpeting, they could tell that the room was strikingly similar to the one they had just fallen from.

Upon closer inspection, the only difference seemed to be a more lively, vibrant atmosphere and the symbols on the door were now numbers.

"Well, 'ello 'ere!" Maria said, moving forward, "Ma name's Maria, et is! 'N 'is 'ere is Martin, 'n Lyon, 'n Elian, 'ey are! We're abo't ta play a game, we are! Ewer jus' en time ta play!"

After a moment, she put her hands on her hips and pouted, "Wha' are ye doin' wi' yer faces in the groun' like 'at? Sit up 'n intraduce ewerselves, now, don' be rude."  

[Isa-sama]

Ton'yell yelled as they fell, but it wasn't a long one. After seeing the others falling along side her (Chris being the one closest to her), she immediately noticed her purse. Her purse which was filled with explosives. "Chris! Throw the bag as far away from the group as you can!"

Chris realized what Ton'yell was trying to say, and immediately thew it in the direction that would least likely impact the group. Ton'yell was scared that they were going to die from this fall, but surprisingly, that didn't happen. Instead, they were cushioned by...well, the air, as crazy as it sounded. And - thank God - the purse did not explode.

She got up slowly, first looking for Chris and then looking at the changed scenery. Where the hell are we now? Now there were four new people - decidedly not dangerous, since they weren't attacking the group. Ton'yell was tempted to snap at the girl, but it wouldn't be good. The other group probably a better idea of what was going on, and it wasn't good to anger the people with knowledge.

"Hello there," Ton'yell greeted. "My name is Ton'yell Jordan." She'd debated on whether giving her last name would be dangerous or not. I doubt they have much use for our names other than to call us out.  

[thegoodsamaritan]

When an obese Hispanic man tumbled down the stairs and attempted to take a bite out of Jasper's neck, he knew the man was insane. When he reached the tower room, and it began to turn sideways, he thought he himself was insane. And now, as he plunged, apparently sideways across creation, through the blackness, he felt that his own insanity was confirmed.

I'm even thinking poetically...

When the light appeared in the distance below him, he realized two things. The first of these was that, as the light was above him, he was falling headfirst through the dark. The second was that, as he had been falling for well on five minutes, that he was plunging, headfirst, at terminal velocity, into a most likely hard and/or unforgiving surface. What a way to go, he thought as he closed his eyes. He felt strangely calm about his impending death. Perhaps he had been expecting it for a long time. Looks like I'll finally get to join you, Lyra...

Suddenly, he felt himself stop suddenly. As though the air had suddenly taken hold of him. Jasper opened his eyes in shock, then looked up- or rather, down- to see himself floating a few inches from the floor-- just in time to crash face first into it.

Ow... He got up, checking his nose gingerly, and thanking God that his glasses weren't broken. He looked around at the sharp change in scenery, holding the bridge of his nose. It was like the tower room- exactly similar, even- except a bit more... spruced up. As if they were transported back to when the manor was still newly made.

Jasper looked about at the collected bodies about him- all alive, thank God. One of them, a woman, got up and introduced herself to some girl. Interesting... Perhaps he should follow up. Jasper walked over, his right hand held out in greeting. "Hello. I'm Jasper. Jasper Davidsen." He smiled crookedly. "Mind telling me what the hell this madhouse is about?"  

[Alastriona Estelle]

The arrival of the first man was enough to startle Elian, but as Maria ever so kindly pushed her out of the way, the ceiling opened up to drop in a bundle of new people, all tumbling to what must be their deaths. Elian quickly turned her head away, not wanting to watch what would most certainly be a terrible, terrible mess; however, there was no -splat- or -thud-, which made Elian slowly turn her gaze back to the falling group, just in time to see them be plopped onto the ground rather painfully. Elian hissed through her teeth, since the small drop seemed to be cushioned by their faces, hopefully nothing was broken.

"Umm..." Elian started, seeing the group rise, all in one piece. The only people in the room that didn't seem confused was Maria and her rather pale and terrifying friend. Once they had seemed to collect themselves, one of them made their way over, and introduced herself as Ton'yell. Slowly, Elian reached out her hand and took hers, shaking lightly before pulling back.

"Elian... And this is Lyon." She spoke softly, looking between each of the people in the room with utter confusion. What kind of game was this going to be, now that there were more players?  

[SiberDrac]

Falling is something that most people in their lives experience at one point or another. And Chris was a person who didn't think that being surprised by something twice was a mature option. However, while most people have experienced falling at some point, not all have fallen through a floor.

Chris screamed like a little girl.

A few minutes into the fall, she finally managed to quiet herself down and listen to Ton'yell's astute suggestion. Hopefully, those bombs wouldn't bounce off anything; it seemed safe to assume that "away" was better than "under." However, as the sensation of following continued, Chris realized she simply couldn't take it. Her breathing accelerated, her eyes were the size of billiard balls, and she was clutching her backpack hard enough to crush anything delicate in it; luckily, the beer bottle had left her possession.

She started blinking. When she stopped, an otherworldly calm seemed to have come over Alex. He looked at his backpack, a little confused, and smoothly got it back over his shoulders. His soft, gray eyes looked ahead at the light, and he thought, "If I die here... what will happen to Mom? She'll be so sad, and she already gets so angry and so upset and cries so much... but how will she know? Oh, that will be better, for her to believe I could still be alive." He nodded to himself, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. "I wonder what it will be like..."

It was therefore a greatly perplexed Alex that landed on the cushion of air and was somehow able to push himself to his hands and knees, listening to an accent he had to fight his way through to understand and wondering how he had gotten among these people. "I..." he started, then let the others say their pieces and moved over to Ton'yell, directly by her side. "My name is Alex," he said quietly, unable to take his eyes from Maria. "Where are we, ma'am?"  

[NativeForeigner]

"'Ell, it's good ta meet all!" Maria said, apparently ignoring Jasper's question. She smiled widely at Alex, "Oh my! Aren't ewe a cute 'lil one, aren't ye? 'E're en Empyrea, cutie, en 'es is the Driskoll Manor, it is, it is."