checkingout | a gent of good intent who's content to be ( OPEN )

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a gent of good intent who's content to be ( OPEN )

Who: Everyone!
Where: The initial arrival rooms, the main lobby, all over the place.
When: March 3rd
What: Welcome, newbies.

ARRIVAL.

you wake up when you hit the floor in a dark room, and the air is knocked out of your lungs. the carpet is threadbare, worn with use, kind of dusty. and you're not the first person to endure this crash landing. nor will you be the last.

once your vision rights itself, you can see the well-lit hallway through the doorjam straight ahead of you. not to say there’s monsters in the shadows, but something propels you towards that door and out into the bright hallway beyond.

and once outside your room, you can hear it: the steady thrum of rain outside.

MAIN LOBBY.

there's a staircase at the end of the lengthy hallway you tumble out of. grab your suitcase and follow the dull green exit signs on the ceiling until you reach the disappointingly bland stairs that lead you down to the ornate old fashion hotel lobby.

to your left is a warmly crackling fireplace, to your right is a lobby desk. straight ahead are three large sets of doors, though only one of them is open to the public. and outside the few (curtained, permanently dark) windows is the continually steady hiss of rain. once you leave the hallway you wake up in, you won't be able to return.

welcome to the hotel.

FRONT DESK.

though there is a bell and a plaque designating the desk to be the main desk, the customer service desk, there are currently no staff members behind it. none shall answer your calls, either.

terribly sorry for the inconvenience.

SCREENING ROOM.

on a long pull-down screen, a silent version of the phantom carriage will be playing on loop. at the back of the room, between the neat rows of fold out chairs, mounted on a wobbly table is the old-timey projector, and mounted on the walls are some rather old speakers that warble out "terrifying" old music.

along the curtained windows is another long table, with a large bowl of popcorn and a large hot drink dispenser full of hot water, but without any tea or hot chocolate packets around.

OTHER.

the ballroom is currently closed, and the grand doors locked.

there is no main door leading to the outside, good luck trying to find one.

the doors to the courtyard and breakfast hall are unlocked, but looks like you've missed the morning meal. sucks for you.

ROOMS.

you've a room key with your assigned room number on it. all the new guest residences will be located on floors three and four. while there is an open elevator in the main lobby, and the buttons light up inside, the doors will not close. all in all, you'll be better off taking the stairs.

while they're the same stairs you undoubtedly came down to get to the lobby, the door to the endless hall everyone woke up in will not reappear between the main floor and the subsequent residential halls.

there are twenty rooms per floor. feel free to get to know your surroundings; or your neighbors as they trickle in around you.

EXISTING GUESTS.

it's late when the newcomers arrive, there's a good chance you'd been about to go to sleep (or just waking up, who knows, your mom's not here to tell you when to go to bed or get up). but if you're paying attention, you might hear the hustle and bustle in the lobby below; or maybe you're just drawn there because your gut told you to go join the commotion. whatever the case may be, go mingle!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah, we haven't figured that bit out yet. We know someone cleans and tidies the rooms -- no matter how you leave 'em they always go back to being clean and whatnot. So it has to be whoever-- or whatever -- is doing that. But...

[ He shrugs, knowing this information will do nothing more than concern the other even more. That's how he felt when he first arrived here, after all. ]

The Box? I... don't know what that is, but. Yeah, I suppose it has to start somewhere, but... where I'm from it's not completely impossible to appear from nowhere. Er. Sort of. [ Magic, it's a curious thing. ] But the breakfast room always has enough and seems readily set out every morning and evening. I... I guess if someone stayed in there to monitor it, but who knows what's doing all of this.

No one's stayed to see who sets it all up? That's the dumbest shuck thing I've ever heard. If you're gonna figure a way out, you've got to exhaust all of your options. Every single one of 'em.

[How many days had they spent studying the Box? Wasted, more like, but they'd tried everything to get out of there. Even lost a couple of lives that way, though he doesn't readily mention it.]

The Box is what brought supplies up for us in the Glade. Things we couldn't grow or make ourselves, the Creators sent if we asked real nicely, but we had to really need it. Like more livestock or clothes when we grew out of what we had. They weren't gonna send us a bloody TV or anything, but we could get all the Grief Serum we needed. But it was all for surviving, finding a way out. This has to be the same thing.

Well, we know more now than we did when we all started here. I mean, we didn't have people to help us figure anything out.

[ He shrugs a little bit. Of course they should have done these things, but they've also done a million other things -- trying doors and windows and anything else they could get their hands on. Then the cold came sweeping through and put a pause to a lot of things. ]

That... that sounds terrible. [ Peter's never been a man of eloquent words. ] But, well. If you want to stake out the breakfast room... maybe we could do it as team. Probably not... not a good idea to do it by yourself. I guess it's hard to say what's controlling any of this around here.

Neither did we, which is probably why it took us two bloody years to figure the Maze out. But we figured out the Glade pretty quick- don't jump down the Box hole, be back through the doors before they close.

[ Newt offers a tight smile. ]

Yeah, you could say it was pretty buggin' awful. So you can understand why I don't want a repeat of it, yeah? If you're offerin' to stake it out with me, I'm not gonna refuse the help, because that's exactly what I plan to do.

Er... right. I guess some things are easy enough to figure out.

[ He shrugs a little bit, smiling awkwardly in return. ]

But yeah, I could go with you... don't know what help I'd be but... I'm fast? [ He was always the runner of the group, both to get out of things but also to help the Marauder's in school with their pranks, of course. ]

So, er. Yeah. Let's do it. I can try and get some supplies, anyway. If you think we need to bring things.

I'm not much of a runner these days, so that's better than nothin'. Are there any weapons around here? When I woke up mine were gone- must have left 'em in the dormitory.

[ If they were going to start digging around here, it was definitely best to do it armed. WICKED definitely hadn't given them any reason to think they wouldn't harm them, considering. ]

I don't have any. Saw a guy with a knife once -- almost stabbed me 'cause he thought I was some weird organization member or something.

[ EVIL, WICKED -- something like that, right? ]

I don't have my wand, anything. I don't think they want us killing each other or-- or hurting one another. I'm sure we can... can find something to work as one if we need to.

[The Gladers are all about making unconventional weapons, so in a pinch Newt could definitely find something to work to defend them.

But what he's saying has Newt's interest piqued.]

Organization? Did he say what it was? WICKED? What'd he look like? [That could easily be a Glader.]

And what good's a wand gonna do?

Yeah, that was it. WICKED. Er -- his name, though. Thomas? Tom? I can't remember. Definitely had something like a weapon?

[ He shrugs. It all had happened so fast, after all, that it's a bit difficult to remember. ] Er. If I had magic it could help but... but I don't think any of that works here.

[ Which is disconcerting. Magic worked a lot of places, why not here, too? ]

[Okay, but any other topic is completely forgotten in lieu of this mention of Thomas. It's a common name, but what are the odds another one would be talking about WICKED? Not very likely. Sorry, your magic would be really interesting to talk about, but his friends are involved now.

He surges forward, gripping him by the shoulders.]

Thomas is here? When did you see him? Where?

[ He may let out a rather undignified sound of surprise when Newt grips him by the shoulders. Peter stands awkwardly, shoulders tense and eyes wide. ]

Oh. Um. Ages ago -- back when I first got here, actually. He's been here a while. If... we're talking about the same guy.

[ He shrugs. ] I hope it's a good thing?

[ Newt lets go after a second, stepping back and giving Peter his personal space back. He's so overwhelmingly relieved to find out Thomas is here, though it doesn't make sense. How had he seen him ages ago when Newt had only seen him a few minutes ago before walking through the Flat Trans? ]

Sorry, just got real excited to hear he's around. If he's goin' around talking about WICKED, it's the Tommy I'm thinking of. There weren't any others in the Glade. Any chance you've run into a shank named Minho too?

Yeah, he was definitely talking about that WICKED thing.

[ He shrugs a little bit, though he listens to the guy carefully. It would be good for him to find those he knew -- he still remembers the relief of finding James, though where he's gone to he doesn't quite know. And that worries him. ]

Er, yeah, I think so? The map guy, right? Though I haven't... seen him in a while. It's been a weird month really, so... it's been a little hard to talk to people here.

Yeah, that's him. Thank God.

[ Relief floods him to know Minho is here too. It means it's more likely that WICKED had just separated them into groups, and must expect them to find each other again. It seems like something they'd do. ]

What do you mean it's been a weird month? What's been going on?

Just temperature changes, things like that. I mean and being part of the first group to show up here. I mean, no way out. At least now other doors are opened? I don't... I don't know.

[ He shrugs a little and sighs. ] Well, glad you've got some... some mates here, anyway. That will help, right?

Doors opened? What doors?

[ So things are changing every month, like the Maze changed. And groups are coming up month by month. It just has to be WICKED pulling the strings here. ]

Yeah- it's not all of 'em by any means, but the three of us are familiar with this. If anybody's gonna figure it out, it'll be Tommy.

Well. The courtyard door was locked, and you know, other things. Just some rooms open, some rooms don't.

[ Things do seem to change unexpectedly around here. ]

Well that's good. I... er. We need someone to figure this place out, so we can all go home.

Then more'll probably open next month, if that's the case. There's gotta be a pattern here, we've just got to figure it out.

[ It's a test, it's meant to be solved. It's meant to test their ability to survive in hopeless situations. ]

Tell me if you notice anything else that's changed.

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