[elevator] [sphinx]

[guillotineroom]

[ When you open your eyes again the first thing that you, and your teammates, may notice is that you are confined within an iron cage, rectangle in shape. Further inspection will reveal that outside of the cage is a large structure of sorts, reaching far above you. It kind of looks like an unfinished clock tower, really... there are spots that look finished and bolted tightly, and others that look like they had been left once and the work never thought of again.

Also, it's pretty chilly. You might get to notice that.

It's foggy and windy—the kind of wind that howls and roars, jostling your cage against the tall shaft, and every so often you feel as though you might have had the ghost of a raindrop on you. The tower-like build creaks horribly ominously in the wind, and you can see the rusted metals swaying slightly. But if you decide to look around...

Flapping above you (and not helping with the wind) is a harpy-like creature, iron chains wrapped around their talons. Though, maybe it's more like a lion? The chains are bolted to the top of your cage. There are also little indicators on the structure, the same distance apart, that seem to be declaring different levels or heights. They look horribly unhappy to be here, but they're also impressive at ignoring any call you might have for them.

There's a door to the cage, but it won't open, even if it's just a simple-looking locking mechanism. If you peer out, it's too foggy on the ground to make out very much, but you can make out nine other, tower-like structures with similarly flapping harpies. Each one, including your own, has an emblazoned emblem of every team's patron monster, so that you can see where everyone is—it's just difficult to make out exactly who may be in each one. Even more difficult to try and communicate like this.

Attached to the door is an aged metal panel with a screen and four buttons; two to choose between the team names that appear on the dark green and black screen, and two to choose whether you wish for that team to go up or down.

After a moment, a little speaker in the corner starts playing an incredibly bad quality version of this.]

Comments

[pagereturner]

Unicorn should lower themselves. I can't imagine anybody being that lacking in self-preservation skills.

[Says the guy who's currently steadfastly against lowering themselves.]

[ambiography]

Ideally, no, but here we are in the same spot as Nymph, who either got chosen three times or didn't lower themselves and had two votes, and we're not set on it either.

...they really should, so we might have to trust it in the end. I'm willing to take Ingo's word on that.

[pagereturner]

They have to lower themselves or nobody has to choose to raise them. One or both of those things should happen and it would defy all logic if they didn't. It's going to have to be that simple.

[ambiography]

I guess it is.

[the little ambient lights under her skin are more active, by this point, flickering and shifting.]

Listen, I don't-- I know what we're trying to do. I don't think it's wrong. But I can't say it feels like we're entirely in the right, either.

[it's her preference to pick someone else too, but. well. it just doesn't feel great when someone's having a difficult time with it.]

[pagereturner]

I stopped having a use for things like right and wrong a long time ago.

I came into this scenario with a goal. Others had different goals. Those goals have been clashing the entire time. The result has been constant compromise and second-guessing.

Which is likely the entire point.

[ambiography]

I'll take compromise over fighting each other on it.

If you don't have a use for them, then what is there? Only your goals, or?

[pagereturner]

I keep moving forward.

That's it.

[ambiography]

Then you must have something you move toward, at the least.