QUIET MOUNDS - STEF HEART

[abardacttofollow]

You find yourself in a stone room that looks like some sort of medieval dungeon. There are (thankfully), no torture instruments, but there is a man strung up here. One large manacle is around his neck, chaining him stiffly to the door. His hands are free, but each foot is manacled to the matching bottom corner of the doorframe. There is a visible lock on each of the three manacles.

It's Stefen, and there's a knife in his chest. Despite that, he's alive, apparently alert, and doesn't look to be in pain, perhaps due to the lulling, sense-dulling music that seems to be coming from nowhere at all—in fact, if you were in pain before you entered, it's gone here. His wound is bleeding, but only a little, and he smiles his usual bright smile at you.

Behind him, but in front of the closed door he's bound to, you can see three double sets of strings running vertically. Where they meet the floor, they are fastened, and then each runs across the floor to the three doors on the opposite wall, then under them.

There is nothing else in this room.

((OOC: Here's how this will work! Since we're doing individual runs, rather than me putting up individual top levels for areas, just jump the post itself, and I'll run everything for you within your one thread. If you're wanting to do a run with someone else, just stay in the same thread together.))

Comments

[abardacttofollow]

"Oh! Thank you..."

[splashofbourbon]

Don't mention it.

[he heads back to the heart guard]

[abardacttofollow]

[smiles at him] Well. That's done, then.

[splashofbourbon]

That's done.

[going to unlock the manacle around his neck]

[abardacttofollow]

[Stefen drops to the floor. As he does, the three strings over the door behind him snap with a discordant jangle]

Thanks for getting me down. I don't know what's back there, honestly, but I know that when you reach the last area, you can get out. I can't give you the key to that area, because it belongs to someone else, but you shouldn't need it.

Oh, and there's a sudden drop, so you might want to close your eyes when you step through.

[splashofbourbon]

I'm familiar with drops.

You doing all right?

[abardacttofollow]

I'm all right. Are you?

[splashofbourbon]

[he shrugs a little]

Been better. You didn't exactly pick the pleasant things to put in here.

[abardacttofollow]

It could have been worse... though I'm just the Guard, you know. I didn't pick things at all.

[splashofbourbon]

Meant you as more of a [handwave] general "you" sorta thing. Couldn't hurt to hold onto some happy things, you know?

[abardacttofollow]

I did.

[splashofbourbon]

What happened to 'em?

[abardacttofollow]

You saw some of them?

Anyway, you already know that this heart doesn't show everything that's in Stefen. You asked me about it already.

[splashofbourbon]

Guess that's true. Just don't feel right only seeing the bad.

[abardacttofollow]

Did you see Medren? The rooms I've shared with Vanyel? How kind my King was?

[splashofbourbon]

You mean how he was so kind you wound up hurting yourself in his name. And that ain't getting into that whole knife in the bed thing.

[abardacttofollow]

He never asked for that, and it stopped once other people learned how.

And the knife was... well. A symbol, you know. Of the end to peaceful times, and how loving a person who others wanted dead is a dangerous thing. It didn't change how lovely the room was, how sweet, did it?

[splashofbourbon]

Did kinda put a damper on it all.

[abardacttofollow]

In real life, too.

Look, you're a smart man. You've figured out already there have to be areas that aren't here.

[splashofbourbon]

I know, I heard you. Don't mean I gotta like the bad parts that I've seen.

[abardacttofollow]

I don't know why it's built like this, because I'm the Heart's Guard of this part, no other. But I know it's some kind of reflection. It stands for some kind of commentary on the True Heart.

[splashofbourbon]

Fair enough.

[he reaches out, ruffling Stef's hair]

You did your duty right though, thanks for the help.

[abardacttofollow]

Thank you! I've... tried my best.

[splashofbourbon]

It shows.

[squeezes his shoulder, turning for the door]

You take care now, all right?

[abardacttofollow]

I will.

[Do you take the step through eyes opened or closed]