Re: The Phenomenal Fracas! (GBS2G6): [Round Four: The Warped Edifice]
08-02-2011, 03:07 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by MrGuy.
Ripper Blackmask leaned on a railing parallel to the wall, breathing heavily, but smiling widely. The Core was back, and god help her if it'd get lost again. Only after staggering back up did the pirate realize what was wrong with the room. It appeared to be an entrance hall, though one without a front door, and a well-furnished one at that. Once the massive, blue-carpeted central staircase ascended past the second floor, however, everything began twisting about in a way that someone who's never seen an Escher print can't very easily explain. Stairs cralwed along the wall, potted plants hung upside down from orphaned ledges, and more than one door was lodged in the floor.
Blackmask sighed and experimentally opened o0ne, and was relieved to discover that unlike that stupid mansion it didn't lead to another room through impossible folds of space-time; rather, it merely opened up to a couple inches of maple flooring. Satisfied with this outcome, she strolled along a hallway jutting out at a 25-degree incline and wallpapered with what appeared to be honeycombs, thinking. Flask monkey's dead, and firefly girl's long gone; don't want to deal with cloth-mage, and I'm hopin' to stay in the serpent's good graces... guess that leaves the priest, and Sandman. The pirate glanced at a lopsided painting of a tiger lily, then opened one of several doors and stumbled into a room of blindingly bright gold. "Well, hello there! Anyways, I ought to find a way to kill that dirt-headed swordsman, but I'd surely lose in a straight fight."
Ripper raised her mask for a moment to spit on the ground. "No weapons for the moment, either, which means it's nothing but fisticuffs and eye-poking..." She scowled, and kicked the ground. "Figures that when I need that vapid vulpine, he's nowhere to be found!"
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As it happened, the man in the fox mask was equally unhappy with the constraints of the round, though it was hard to tell, as he concealed this behind the wide grin he pointed at Sixth. "So, you take my contestant's things, and Teeeeesla Jr. still couldn't wiiiiiiin, eh?"
The snake-masked man scowled, in no mood to listen to First's nonsense. "Quiet."
First responded by doing a twirl and emitting a burst of laughter. "Such a shaaaaaame that I'll be winning, as always. A change of pace from coooooonstantly humiliating you all would have been quite niiiiiice, but I'm afraid--"
Sixth's jittering hand clasped shut, shattering the glass it held. "One more word, and that's your arm, First." The fox-masked man shrugged and traipsed out of the room, still giggling. Satisfying. Nothing beats a good gloat when you're feeling down. He withdrew an elegant pocketwatch from the depths of his pocket, examining its eight hands closely. Ooh, interesting. Anyway, worst comes to worst, I cheat. I'm certainly not above doing so to protect my interests. He snapped it closed, and continued on, humming a nameless tune as he went.
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There was a knock on the door, and Ripper was unsure how to react to it. After a moment of deliberation, she realized that it would eventually be opened anyway, and dumped a couple sapphires into The Core. She was disappointed in how dampened the rush was here, but at the same time, ready to run at a moment's notice.
Opening the door, she came face-to-face (as it were, given his lack of any facial features besides a mouth) with Syvex. "...Ahoy there, serpent."
"Hello, pirate."
The pirate coughed. "I, uh, don't intend to hurt you. Least not here, when you've almost certainly got me outmatched."
Syvex inched his way into the room. "Your honesty is very refreshing. I don't seek to kill you either... for the moment."
From behind her mask, Ripper smiled slightly. "That's good to know. So tell me, you old blaggard, who you want us to be going after?"
Ripper Blackmask leaned on a railing parallel to the wall, breathing heavily, but smiling widely. The Core was back, and god help her if it'd get lost again. Only after staggering back up did the pirate realize what was wrong with the room. It appeared to be an entrance hall, though one without a front door, and a well-furnished one at that. Once the massive, blue-carpeted central staircase ascended past the second floor, however, everything began twisting about in a way that someone who's never seen an Escher print can't very easily explain. Stairs cralwed along the wall, potted plants hung upside down from orphaned ledges, and more than one door was lodged in the floor.
Blackmask sighed and experimentally opened o0ne, and was relieved to discover that unlike that stupid mansion it didn't lead to another room through impossible folds of space-time; rather, it merely opened up to a couple inches of maple flooring. Satisfied with this outcome, she strolled along a hallway jutting out at a 25-degree incline and wallpapered with what appeared to be honeycombs, thinking. Flask monkey's dead, and firefly girl's long gone; don't want to deal with cloth-mage, and I'm hopin' to stay in the serpent's good graces... guess that leaves the priest, and Sandman. The pirate glanced at a lopsided painting of a tiger lily, then opened one of several doors and stumbled into a room of blindingly bright gold. "Well, hello there! Anyways, I ought to find a way to kill that dirt-headed swordsman, but I'd surely lose in a straight fight."
Ripper raised her mask for a moment to spit on the ground. "No weapons for the moment, either, which means it's nothing but fisticuffs and eye-poking..." She scowled, and kicked the ground. "Figures that when I need that vapid vulpine, he's nowhere to be found!"
-----------------------------------------------------
As it happened, the man in the fox mask was equally unhappy with the constraints of the round, though it was hard to tell, as he concealed this behind the wide grin he pointed at Sixth. "So, you take my contestant's things, and Teeeeesla Jr. still couldn't wiiiiiiin, eh?"
The snake-masked man scowled, in no mood to listen to First's nonsense. "Quiet."
First responded by doing a twirl and emitting a burst of laughter. "Such a shaaaaaame that I'll be winning, as always. A change of pace from coooooonstantly humiliating you all would have been quite niiiiiice, but I'm afraid--"
Sixth's jittering hand clasped shut, shattering the glass it held. "One more word, and that's your arm, First." The fox-masked man shrugged and traipsed out of the room, still giggling. Satisfying. Nothing beats a good gloat when you're feeling down. He withdrew an elegant pocketwatch from the depths of his pocket, examining its eight hands closely. Ooh, interesting. Anyway, worst comes to worst, I cheat. I'm certainly not above doing so to protect my interests. He snapped it closed, and continued on, humming a nameless tune as he went.
-----------------------------------------------------
There was a knock on the door, and Ripper was unsure how to react to it. After a moment of deliberation, she realized that it would eventually be opened anyway, and dumped a couple sapphires into The Core. She was disappointed in how dampened the rush was here, but at the same time, ready to run at a moment's notice.
Opening the door, she came face-to-face (as it were, given his lack of any facial features besides a mouth) with Syvex. "...Ahoy there, serpent."
"Hello, pirate."
The pirate coughed. "I, uh, don't intend to hurt you. Least not here, when you've almost certainly got me outmatched."
Syvex inched his way into the room. "Your honesty is very refreshing. I don't seek to kill you either... for the moment."
From behind her mask, Ripper smiled slightly. "That's good to know. So tell me, you old blaggard, who you want us to be going after?"