sit yourself down, and meet the best inn keeper in town ( O P E N )

[checkingin]

Who: Everyone!
Where: The initial arrival rooms, the main lobby, all over the place.
When: February 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.

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 tall pull-down screen, a silent version of nosferatu 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 timey music.

along the curtained windows is another long table, with a large bowl that looked like it once would have held popcorn. but is now unfortunately empty. same for the large hot drink dispensers labeled "hot chocolate" and "coffee".

OTHER.

the ballroom and breakfast hall are currently closed, grand doors locked.

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

the door to the courtyard is locked.

ROOMS.

you've a room key with your assigned room number on it. all the new guest residences will be located on floors one & two. 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'd 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.

Comments

[gloriouscurse]

It's entirely possibly you didn't know I was here.

[Today is your lucky day, Hook. Regina doesn't want to (or at least doesn't plan to be antagonistic. As she steps into his room, she turns to study him.]

You have a hand, and yet you know me and you're dressed like a leather couch which means you're not pre-pirate days.

[No one ever deigned to tell her about the hand incident, so she has to put it together herself.]

The only person capable of reattaching limbs via magic is the Dark One.

[The look on Regina's face right now. Hook. She thought you were better than that.]

[villainously]

You're a hard woman to miss, even when you're not doused in feathers and black velvet. [ he's got to give it to her, the queen knows how to dress impressively. clearly something that the pirate can appreciate.

(a part of him kind of misses his swashbuckling style.)

when she walks in, unsurprisingly, he's expecting to talk about their current predicament. not his current predicament. his eyes narrow, a conflicting mass of things running through him at the very accurate assessment. he doesn't want to go into his (yes, admittedly foolish) decision with anyone. especially not Regina Mills. ]

I don't see how that is going to help us get out of here. If the Crocodile did it [ and it's not impossible, Baelfire is here and that's all the Dark One really wants ] I think we'd know by now.

[gloriouscurse]

Who else is strong enough? He has that damned hat, I have no idea what it does.

[She doesn't even acknowledge the comment about her own wardrobe, she knows it's just fine.]

But...[As much as she's loathe to even say these words -]

You might be right. If it was just us, other people from home, I'd say Rumple, but...There aren't many familiar people here. Just you, Neal, and Emma.

[God, it's a regular party from hell.]

[villainously]

A hat? [ he's no idea what she's on about, unfortunately. just shy of that revelation before he arrived in the hotel. he shakes his head, clearly deciding whatever it is, it's not relevant now.

he's sure that was physically painful for her, to admit he might have a point, but if anyone knows the Dark One, it's him. Regina may have been his student, Hook still chased him for centuries. between the two, they're as close to expert as they can get... except for Neal, perhaps. ]

There's people from different worlds, different lands. What kind of curse has that area of scope? And to what end?

[ he looks baffled, because honestly? he has no idea. ]

[gloriouscurse]

[Ugh, Hook, why can't you get with the times? But then she pauses, looking at him and completely ignoring his questions.]

Your heart...do you have it? [Just asking for a friend, and then she waves her hand.]

I don't know, someone all knowing? Not Ingrid. [She scoffs at the idea of it, but then..]

The sorcerer, maybe.

[villainously]

[ look he's perfectly with his own times. it's just his time isn't hers... impossibly enough. he looks at her like she's sprouted another head. does he have his heart? where the bloody hell else would it be? ] Last I checked you were the one roughing it without, and you've gotten it back since. [ yes, he's got his heart, does she intend to explain what inspired her to ask?

by the times she mentions this sorcerer he's starting to worry something is wrong. ] Regina, honestly. What are you on about?
What sorcerer? I thought were after a snow queen.

[gloriouscurse]

[It would have helped if anyone had bothered to tell her that Hook - even temporarily - had his hand back and when. But at least he knows about Ingrid.]

If I tell you anything it could screw with what's already happened. And I think I've been through enough tampering. All I'll say about the sorcerer is that he may or may not have written Henry's book that we're all in. Which means he controls, possibly, all of our lives.

[villainously]

[ he rubs at his face, because, all right, she's saying without saying some sort of timeline trouble has gone on again and he had more than enough the first time. ]

Are you trying to say I'm not from the same time? That's mad, darling. A spell that works between times and realms? Nobody could possibly be that powerful. [ the price would be too high... wouldn't it? he frowns at her at the idea someone beyond them is pulling their strings. ] Call me a skeptic, but I don't want to believe I'm not in control of my own actions.

[ he's made the wrong choices, but they're his and not some sorcerers. still, that's not important. ] This sorcerer... You think he's responsible for this?

[gloriouscurse]

[Regina takes a deep breath, looking around his room and when he's done, looks at him.]

The last thing I remember - and this all you get to know - Emma defeated the Snow Queen. She's gone. If she's still around for you? Then we're from different points in time. And this sorcerer...maybe. If it's not Rumplestiltskin behind this...I don't know.

[Her eyes meet his as she shakes her head a little.]

Maybe we're just...caught up in someone else's curse. [Like all the collateral damage from her revenge on Snow.]

[villainously]

It's more likely something has happened to my memory than someone jumping through time again. [ considering all the bits and pieces required for time travel, complete with a baby and a brain made of gold... adversely, memories being affected is quite commonplace in magic, though he can't quite say why someone would want him to forget defeating the Snow Queen.

at least the last bit he can agree with without question. all of this feels like a curse, the suffocating rooms and the confusion and the lack of answers. ] If someone cast it, there's got to be clues somewhere. Can you manage some manner of locating spell? [ he'd seen Rumplestiltskin wave a hand and separate the snow queen's magic from something it had touched, why not the evil queen?

so, maybe he hasn't heard about the lack of magic around yet. ]

[gloriouscurse]

[There's an exasperated sigh then, and she rubs at her face.]

Magic isn't exactly strong here.

[In example, she tries to make fire in her palm, and all he gets for a show, is a wisp of smoke.]

See?

[villainously]

[ well, that certainly isn't promising. it gets to be all too easy to rely on magic to fix their problems... the idea that they'll have to find an alternative solution is intimidating. ]

Is there some sort of magic dampening spell? How is that possible?

[gloriouscurse]

I think it's like being stuck in the land without magic. It just...doesn't exist here. As if...

[She frowns a little, trying to work it out.]

As if whoever cast a curse is still where they want to be, powerful, and we're stuck.

[...Maybe.]

[villainously]

[ it's hard to know motivations of a nameless, faceless entity. her words do make sense, that for one reason or another, powers were dampened so someone else could remain in control. ]

Might be. [ he frowns, because he just can't say for sure. they don't have enough clues yet. ] There's got to be an answer somewhere, someone did this. Nobody is perfect, we'll find them like we did with Zelena.

[ though Zelena basically waltzed into the diner and announced herself but that is not the point. ]

[gloriouscurse]

For now, it's good to know someone familiar is here.

[Even if it's Hook. Even if they have some things to work out. She's past it, he's an ally, and he took care of Henry. It's all that matters, really. At l east for now.]

I'll leave you to...whatever you're doing in here.

[villainously]

[ there's a few familiar, it seems. Emma, Regina, and ... well.

Regina is about to take her leave and he should let her but he can't help himself. he catches her arm to keep her from turning away, before he releases her. the look on his face is a bit dark. ]

Have you seen him? Baelfire. [ he doesn't know what to think about that still, in so many ways. but it does give credence to her alternate time theories...

except for the fact Neal remembers dying, and that should not be possible. that kind of magic is not possible. so how? he hopes she might have an answer, but there really isn't one. ]

[gloriouscurse]

[Something uncomfortable sits with her when it comes to Neal Baelfire. Because she threw dirt on his coffin, and after Henry regained his memories, comforted her son. She nods a little though, looking up at Hook.]

So, there's something else we can add to the list of things this place can do with magic, somehow: Bring back the dead.

[Which she knows from painful, heartbreaking experience is impossible. Even when it goes right it goes horrifyingly wrong.]

[villainously]

[ he can't imagine what kind of magic could restore the dead. knowing the efforts required to go through time, death would be just as dramatic or worse. is there a price to bringing Baelfire back from the dead?

and if so, who would be left to pay it?

he shakes his head, not knowing what to say. he'd never dreamed it possible, and yet they were all living it. he just hoped it would turn out for the best, with Henry getting his father back. ]

If I find anything I'll let you know.

[ uncomfortable a team as they were, Regina was on Emma's side, which meant they were unwitting teammates. he'd do what he could to help Regina as well. ]

[gloriouscurse]

[Hook's thoughts echo Regina's, and she nods at his offer.]

Likewise. Let's hope we figure something out sooner rather than later.

[Giving him a tight lipped smile, she heads out then, determined to find some answers.]