03-03-2010, 09:19 PM
Confusion naturally set in after she spent more time pondering over her situation. In fact, she hadn’t had much time to ponder any of the events that she had just found herself going through in the past…several hours, she wanted to say. Those hours definitely felt like minutes, though, and for good reason—she walked through a field of rubble, fought first a mysterious warrior and second an army of robots, and woke up in the middle of a carnival of all things. Oh yeah, and she had just been resurrected. This was cause for anyone to feel a little bit under the weather.
The confusion made its way through her system, and to her surprise, left behind a feeling of…joy.
Or perhaps it was just relief. The healer was so afraid of dying again, and getting stabbed in the neck by a foreign—and incredibly sharp—object did nothing to ease her fears. The bright lights and the amazing sounds that emitted from the large theme park of sorts, however, had a calming effect on her. There were much worse places to be put into as a prisoner, something that she had learned not too much earlier than her arrival.
And after all, who didn’t like the carnival?
The pair took a step forward simultaneously to enter the theme park, as they had apparently been placed right outside the entrance. A glance behind her shoulder provided Sophia with not much more knowledge or insight about her surroundings than she had before—the mouth of what looked like a forest, wide and menacing, sat just behind them, and an assortment of branches and thick foliage removed any passing fancy about turning around and walking the other direction. Shaking her head, she turned her gaze back around towards the entrance, but her progress was halted immediately upon seeing a message float ominously in the area. Glancing at the courier beside her, it was obvious that he had seen the same thing.
“Sophia has joined the party…” the priestess muttered, bewilderment hidden in her voice until her eyes widened upon realization. She narrowed it into a glare, however, when she looked upon Kaden. “Totally not fair. Why am I entering your party?”
“Hey, I didn’t make the rules,” the blonde smirked. “Maybe if you had gotten here a little earlier…”
Sophia hid a smile and waved him off. “So you say. One of these days, I’ll be the main character, and you can be the insignificant little healer.”
“Okay, in my defense, there’s a reason why you always play the healer role,” Kaden suggested. “Somehow, I think I would…fall short in comparison.”
“I didn’t say you had to be good at it,” Sophia could no longer hold back her joyful expression.
Kaden opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off by loud music. It was the sort of jovial tune that always accompanied such carnivals, although there was something strangely…off-putting about it, though the healer couldn’t put a finger on it. Maybe it was slightly out of tune, or perhaps there was a consistent note in the song that was a little off. Her musical analysis was put on hold, however, as a large pole seemed to just sprout out of the ground, stretching far into the night sky. As it rose, it seemed to emit a strange whistling sound, likely to represent the growth of the object itself. A few seconds of silence ensued, and made its stay until Kaden opened his mouth to speak once more. Almost as if the pole noticed an opportunity to cut him off, another bar extended perpendicular from it, only this one was colored like a candy cane, with a red and white stripe spiraling around it.
“…what…” Kaden stopped himself, looking around for more things that could possibly impede further speech. Satisfied with what he saw—nothing—he continued. “What the hell—”
“Oh, so sorry,” a voice pierced the air, much to the apparent chagrin to the courier. No other body was around to match the voice, however. Regardless, it kept talking. “You have to be this tall to proceed further into Kill Town.”
“This tall?” Sophia frowned, looking straight up at the bar. “You have to be kidding me! Nobody’s this tall!”
“Mmmm…good point,” the invisible man said. “However, I can’t change the rules for you. That wouldn’t be fair.”
Sophia’s eyes darted back and forth, examining the inside of the park. It seemed empty for the most part, at least from where she stood, although there were a few people walking around inside. She scanned their statures—some seemed tall, others not so much, but none of them were giants. “What about the people inside? You had no trouble letting them through.”
“You make a good point, my good woman,” the voice agreed. “Very well. I suppose I could allow an exception. Just. This. Once.”
Upon the completion of the man’s sentence, the pole shrunk back into the ground, leaving no trace of its existence.
“How gracious,” Kaden rolled his eyes. Turning to Sophia, he tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey, come on, let’s do some more exploring.”
“…none of that bothered you?” Sophia raised an eyebrow.
“It does. You don’t just see…that every day,” the courier shrugged. “But we won’t know anything until we get inside and look around, right? And besides, I’m the party leader. You’re supposed to follow me, remember?”
“Oh, you jerk,” the priestess grinned and punched him lightly in the arm. She reached out her hand and wrapped her right arm around his left. “Fine, ‘party leader,’ lead the way.”
The confusion made its way through her system, and to her surprise, left behind a feeling of…joy.
Or perhaps it was just relief. The healer was so afraid of dying again, and getting stabbed in the neck by a foreign—and incredibly sharp—object did nothing to ease her fears. The bright lights and the amazing sounds that emitted from the large theme park of sorts, however, had a calming effect on her. There were much worse places to be put into as a prisoner, something that she had learned not too much earlier than her arrival.
And after all, who didn’t like the carnival?
The pair took a step forward simultaneously to enter the theme park, as they had apparently been placed right outside the entrance. A glance behind her shoulder provided Sophia with not much more knowledge or insight about her surroundings than she had before—the mouth of what looked like a forest, wide and menacing, sat just behind them, and an assortment of branches and thick foliage removed any passing fancy about turning around and walking the other direction. Shaking her head, she turned her gaze back around towards the entrance, but her progress was halted immediately upon seeing a message float ominously in the area. Glancing at the courier beside her, it was obvious that he had seen the same thing.
“Sophia has joined the party…” the priestess muttered, bewilderment hidden in her voice until her eyes widened upon realization. She narrowed it into a glare, however, when she looked upon Kaden. “Totally not fair. Why am I entering your party?”
“Hey, I didn’t make the rules,” the blonde smirked. “Maybe if you had gotten here a little earlier…”
Sophia hid a smile and waved him off. “So you say. One of these days, I’ll be the main character, and you can be the insignificant little healer.”
“Okay, in my defense, there’s a reason why you always play the healer role,” Kaden suggested. “Somehow, I think I would…fall short in comparison.”
“I didn’t say you had to be good at it,” Sophia could no longer hold back her joyful expression.
Kaden opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off by loud music. It was the sort of jovial tune that always accompanied such carnivals, although there was something strangely…off-putting about it, though the healer couldn’t put a finger on it. Maybe it was slightly out of tune, or perhaps there was a consistent note in the song that was a little off. Her musical analysis was put on hold, however, as a large pole seemed to just sprout out of the ground, stretching far into the night sky. As it rose, it seemed to emit a strange whistling sound, likely to represent the growth of the object itself. A few seconds of silence ensued, and made its stay until Kaden opened his mouth to speak once more. Almost as if the pole noticed an opportunity to cut him off, another bar extended perpendicular from it, only this one was colored like a candy cane, with a red and white stripe spiraling around it.
“…what…” Kaden stopped himself, looking around for more things that could possibly impede further speech. Satisfied with what he saw—nothing—he continued. “What the hell—”
“Oh, so sorry,” a voice pierced the air, much to the apparent chagrin to the courier. No other body was around to match the voice, however. Regardless, it kept talking. “You have to be this tall to proceed further into Kill Town.”
“This tall?” Sophia frowned, looking straight up at the bar. “You have to be kidding me! Nobody’s this tall!”
“Mmmm…good point,” the invisible man said. “However, I can’t change the rules for you. That wouldn’t be fair.”
Sophia’s eyes darted back and forth, examining the inside of the park. It seemed empty for the most part, at least from where she stood, although there were a few people walking around inside. She scanned their statures—some seemed tall, others not so much, but none of them were giants. “What about the people inside? You had no trouble letting them through.”
“You make a good point, my good woman,” the voice agreed. “Very well. I suppose I could allow an exception. Just. This. Once.”
Upon the completion of the man’s sentence, the pole shrunk back into the ground, leaving no trace of its existence.
“How gracious,” Kaden rolled his eyes. Turning to Sophia, he tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey, come on, let’s do some more exploring.”
“…none of that bothered you?” Sophia raised an eyebrow.
“It does. You don’t just see…that every day,” the courier shrugged. “But we won’t know anything until we get inside and look around, right? And besides, I’m the party leader. You’re supposed to follow me, remember?”
“Oh, you jerk,” the priestess grinned and punched him lightly in the arm. She reached out her hand and wrapped her right arm around his left. “Fine, ‘party leader,’ lead the way.”