Cold Waters

((And I will say that I can write much more than this, this is only so short because it's a very sudden introduction. From now on, it will actually be more than a single line.))

>>446380
>What do you do?
getting up off the ground seems like a good start

>>446410

Blearily blinking your eyes, clearing them of sleep, you climb to your feet. You have to brace your hand against the wall as your feet are unsteady, hand feeling along the stonework for purchase. It takes a moment for the stiffness in your joints to fade, but when you finally stand up you feel alright, or at least better than you were a moment ago.

You look around, taking in the hallway that you've woken up in. It's dark, the long hall stretching off both ways into unseen shadows. The only reason that there's any light here at all is the window across from you. Other than that, the only other features of the room are a drip from above, and the pool of water you were sleeping in.

You don't know where you are.

Should probably go check that window and get our bearings

>>446465

Smacking your lips to clear them of stale water, you look over to the window and stumble over. Your legs are still asleep, tingling constantly. Grasping the window frame, you steady yourself and look up. It's barred, but you can still see through it clearly.


Outside you can see that it's a bright sunny day. Trees stretch out as far as the eye can see, and in the distance, you can make out a village, people visible. The drop from the window is about ten feet up, but not so high you couldn't jump. A tug on the bars shows that they are loose, but you don't have the strength to break them.

>>446431
>>446481
Can we take a closer look at that pool of water we woke up in?

>>446485

Looking away from the window, you turn back to examine the shallow pool you'd been sleeping in. It isn't very deep, but since you've woken up the water from the ceiling hasn't dripped. You don't know if it was there or not before you were here, or if you somehow brought this water into this hall, but you get the feeling that you've been sleeping here for a long time.

>>446492
guess we should start making out way down the hallway then

>>446505

The hallway extends both directions, leading out of sight and into darkness. Will you go left, or right?

>>446511
Right

>>446527

Making an uniformed choice, you decide to go down the right side of the hallway. You continue down that way, into dimmer and dimmer light, holding out your hands to find your way. Eventually, you feel your hands brush up against something, stopping you. Burnished and rough wood pushes against your hands. It's a door.

>>446540
might as well try and open it then.

>>446553

The door is heavy, and doesn't open easily. Throwing your whole weight behind it, you only just manage to tug on it's hinges, making just enough space to squeeze through.

The room beyond is brighter than the hall, but not by much. It seems to be a library, with shelves of densely packed books. Candles are cluttered around the room, dangerously closed to the pages, yet no fires have broken out yet. The low ceiling only serves to make the messy space feel even smaller.

Across the room from where you've opened the door, there is an old man. Hunched over a book, he sits at a desk, engrossed in it. Surrounding his seat is a mountain of books, haphazardly piled around him, almost obscuring him from view. Dressed plainly, all the man wears is a cardigan and trousers. Perched on a bulbous nose is a pair of opaque glasses.

He hasn't see you yet.

((By the way, is there anything I'm doing wrong/right that needs to either change or be expanded on?))

>>446595
Call out to the old man.
Need to gather intel.

((To my knowledge no))

>>446716

You raise your voice up, and the man jumps, clearly startled. He doesn't look in your direction, but he lifts his head and speaks out.

"Hello? Excuse me, I wasn't expecting any company. Are you a young lady?" You answer back that yes, you are. "Ah, could you come here for a moment, Miss? I have a favor to ask of you."

>>446738
Old man alone in a empty library?
What's the worst that could happen?

Walk up to him and hear out his request.

>>446774

Walking up to the old man, you see him turn in his chair towards you. You can't see his eyes from behind his glasses, but he has a warm and sincere smile on his face. "Thank you, Miss. I've been having trouble reading some of these books. Would you be willing to read some of them to me?"

>>446797
Promise to read the old man a story if he tells us where we are and who he is.

>>446881

The man frowns and shakes his head. "I'm sorry Miss, I don't know where this is, or who I am. I've been hoping that these books would be able to help me figure that out, but so far they haven't. Still, would you be willing to read to me?"

>>446956
OK...
We read the guy ONE book since can't help us.
Then let's leave this library.


((This old man makes me want to flip a table))

>>446997

The man smiled. "Thank you kindly, Miss." Reaching into the pile, he pulled out a book at random and handed it to you. "Just a few lines of this. I only need something to perhaps jog my memory."

It's a book of rhymes. Opening it up, there's only one poem there.

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary,"
"How does your garden grow?"
"With silver bells and cockle shells,"
"All lined up in a row."

As you finish the last word, the book shakes, and you drop it. It hits the stone floor with a wet squelch, the pages suddenly soaked through, ink ruined. The man looks surprised at the sound. "That was a lovely rhyme, Miss. Is there anything I can do for you?"

>>447040
>It hits the stone floor with a wet squelch, the pages suddenly soaked through
well ok then

ask the old man if he has been down to the other end of hallway past the pool of water.

>>447142

The man shakes his head. "I haven't. This room is awfully cluttered, and I haven't been able to leave. I can't see very well, and I'm certain I would trip. Besides, what if one of these books held something valuable between it's pages? I couldn't afford to miss this."

He looks as though that's all he has to say, but quickly jerks his head back up before he turns back around. "Ah, before you go Miss, let me give you this!" Finishing in the pockets of his pants, he pulls out a knife. Handing it to you, on closer inspection, it appears to be a dull letter opener. Too blunt to be a weapon, but you could always use it as a form of lever.

"I know that it's not much, but it's the only thing I have to part with. I don't want you to have to leave empty handed for your kindness."

>>447161

OK....weird books...
So let's grab a paper a candle a random book and see if we can find a pencil then leave.

And thank the old man for the loot while we're at it.

Searching the room, you're quickly able to grab a candle and a book, but you can't seem to find any writing utensils. Regardless, you take what you have found and curtsy to the man. He doesn't respond, but when your verbally thank you he smiles. With that done, you head to the door.

You're back in the hallway.
You've acquired a candle, a book, and a dull knife.

((Oh, and if someone needs a recap at any time, I'll be happy to provide one.))

((I'm going to assume that's all the responses I'm getting for the night, so I'll head off. Have a good night, everyone!))

Good night, thanks for running.

((Back online, so the game is back on! Feel free to send in responses and actions for the previous post at >>447311))

((Small signal boost.))

((Would it be best for me to just kill off this quest, then?))

>>447311
Head out the door.

>>449251
((It depends, some quests just don't get much attention.))

>>449269

You pass by the window with the loose bars, and make your way to the other end of the hall. In the candlelight, the short walk is much clearer, making it much safer. It's the same heavy wood as the other door, and you have to tuck the book under your arm to pry it open.

The room you enter is the opposite of the library. Instead of being big and low, this room is tall and small. The space is a circle, only ten feet in diameter, with the walls stretching far above. The rush of wind hints that there might not be a ceiling at all. In the center of the floor there is a grate. No other lights than your candle are present.

((Thank you, I'll try to keep that in mind as I run this.))

>>449636
Examine room.

>>469646

You pace the edge of the room, running your hands along the wall. The stone is unbelievably smooth, worn away by rain and wind, even inside the building. Though it isn't wet, you have to be careful not to slip on the slick floor.

The grate in the center of the room is fused with the surrounding stonework, the floor having been layered over the tops of the edges. It cannot be removed. You hear whimpering coming from the darkness below.

>>449665
Look down into grate.

>>449680

You cannot see that far down. The candlelight does not extend more than a few feet. The whimpering, now that you've taken a moment to listen, is clearly human.

>>449696
Call down to person below.

>>449701

Raising your voice, you call down the grate to the whimpering person below. It echoes for a good minute, and after a while you think they didn't hear you. Then a female voice bounces it's way back up.

"W-Who are you?" she yells. You tell her you don't know. "W-Well... c-can you tell m-me why-y it's so dark-k?"

>>449714
Tell the woman she's at the bottom of a deep hole.

>>449723

"A-A hole?" she wails. You hear the sound of a slap echoing up at you, as well as a hiss of pain. "I-It's so dark... P-Please... I need a light, any light... H-Help me! Please, girl! You have to bring me a light!"

>>449734

Tell her you don't have any light-giving items that would survive the fall.

>>449763

Clearly she can't see the candlelight from the far away. Hearing your response, she begins to sob, returning to her wails and fears.

>>449770
Look up at the (lack of) ceiling.

It stretches up out of sight, reaching into darkness. Squinting, you can see the vague outlines of stars up above. Strange. Wasn't it a bright sunny day in the window you passed? That was only a short ways away, and it hadn't been close to sunset.

>>449836
Go back out the door.

>>449857

Realizing that there is nothing that you can do to help the girl right now, you go back into the hallway with the window. Now what will you do?

((Since you are a different person, if you ever need a recap of inventory/events, just let me know.))

>>449869

Look out window.

((FYI I have to go soon so this may be my last post today.))

>>449896

Nothing has changed about the window. It is still the same sunny day, with people standing near a town on a hill. The loose bars are still in place.

((That's fine! I hope you've enjoyed what's happened so far and have a good night! This story is still available for other people to join too!))

((Online!))

>>461123
Go back to the library room.