Re: Inexorable Altercation [Round III - Vorlon Complex]
09-28-2011, 01:04 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Niall.
Parset had been walking for over an hour with no fruition to his wanderings. He'd been travelling in all directions, through rooms filled with paperwork, well-crafted chairs and bizzare metallic devices. Everything he came across seemed foriegn to him, as if whoever had built this structure had more people to work for him than there were stars in the sky. Great sheets of metal were attached to the walls, as flat and smooth as the surface of a sheltered lake. The chairs had metal legs; tubes bent into such a fashion that even the most handy smith would have spent half a day on one chair alone. And there were hundreds of chairs! And on top of that, the chairs' backs were made out of a material Parset had never encountered before. It was solid and hardy and by all accounts it should have been ridgid yet when Parset climbed up onto one the material bent slightly beneath his small weight. It was wafer thin too! Even the source of light was a wonder to behold. Great bars seemingly attached to the ceiling, glowing a ghostly white glow. Parset had seen neither the likes of plastic nor electricity before, so everything in this complex had something to offer his curiosity. There were switches on the walls, too high to reach on his stubby legs alone, that could control the lights on the ceiling. The first time he impressed one of those switches he was so startled he fell off the chair he was standing on. But for three more rooms he went back, double checking that every switch did the same thing.
Despite the great advances and obvious organised placement of these facilities and objects, he saw no-one, heard no-one, found nothing of use. No keyhole fit his key. Besides, most keyholes did not require a key as nearly all doors were unlocked and all cupboards had no secrets to protect. Parset found it strange that such a seemingly important building was dead empty. It was clear that, at some point, there had been a large amount of people doing... something in this place. Perhaps he had fallen asleep again and now it was night. Maybe once the sun had risen, the humans would return to whatever this place was. Perhaps it would be best if Parset quickened his search before whoever it was that owned this building returned.
Parset rounded another corner and found himself at the intersection of two corridors. At the roof of the intersection an inverted, polished, metal hemisphere hang from the ceiling, its purpose to allow anyone in its view to see down the two corridors on their left and right. Parset walked beneath the dome and saw himself in its reflection, then he saw something that made him mentally curse himself. Beneath his feet, there were small, yellow dots, dots that he had made earlier on. This was infuriating! He'd been playing the fool, walking around in circles and finding nothing. He might as well just sit down here and wait for the humans to return so they could kick him outside because at this rate it was exactly where he was going to end up.
Some movement down a corridor to his left caught his eye. A shadowy figure had appeared at the end of the corner and was making its way towards him. There was something very off about his general shape. Too bumpy, too uneven. The shape paused for a second, lifted its hand and made writing movements in the sky. Dust that had settled on the ground floated up from its resting place and formed into letters in front of the figure.
"WHO GOES THERE?"
Parset froze, brain racing. He'd been caught in this place unawares and was probably in deep trouble. In lieu of a better plan, he opted to do what he always did when he was caught somewhere he shouldn't be; he pretended to be drunk.
---
Loran heard footsteps coming from around the corner of the corridor the trail had led him to. Remaining as silent as his training had allowed him, he peered around the corner, keeping careful to remain concealed stealthily in the shadows. The sight that greeted his eyes was that of a midget wearing a top hat, carrying a swag, waving his arms about and stumbling to and fro, making vague guestures towards something down the corridor to the left. Whoever, or whatever, it was appeared to be intoxicated, but if this was a trap then it could be just a clever act.
A grinning face appeared at his shoulder. Greyve bared his teeth in a smug display of self-satisfaction.
"Told you so."
Parset had been walking for over an hour with no fruition to his wanderings. He'd been travelling in all directions, through rooms filled with paperwork, well-crafted chairs and bizzare metallic devices. Everything he came across seemed foriegn to him, as if whoever had built this structure had more people to work for him than there were stars in the sky. Great sheets of metal were attached to the walls, as flat and smooth as the surface of a sheltered lake. The chairs had metal legs; tubes bent into such a fashion that even the most handy smith would have spent half a day on one chair alone. And there were hundreds of chairs! And on top of that, the chairs' backs were made out of a material Parset had never encountered before. It was solid and hardy and by all accounts it should have been ridgid yet when Parset climbed up onto one the material bent slightly beneath his small weight. It was wafer thin too! Even the source of light was a wonder to behold. Great bars seemingly attached to the ceiling, glowing a ghostly white glow. Parset had seen neither the likes of plastic nor electricity before, so everything in this complex had something to offer his curiosity. There were switches on the walls, too high to reach on his stubby legs alone, that could control the lights on the ceiling. The first time he impressed one of those switches he was so startled he fell off the chair he was standing on. But for three more rooms he went back, double checking that every switch did the same thing.
Despite the great advances and obvious organised placement of these facilities and objects, he saw no-one, heard no-one, found nothing of use. No keyhole fit his key. Besides, most keyholes did not require a key as nearly all doors were unlocked and all cupboards had no secrets to protect. Parset found it strange that such a seemingly important building was dead empty. It was clear that, at some point, there had been a large amount of people doing... something in this place. Perhaps he had fallen asleep again and now it was night. Maybe once the sun had risen, the humans would return to whatever this place was. Perhaps it would be best if Parset quickened his search before whoever it was that owned this building returned.
Parset rounded another corner and found himself at the intersection of two corridors. At the roof of the intersection an inverted, polished, metal hemisphere hang from the ceiling, its purpose to allow anyone in its view to see down the two corridors on their left and right. Parset walked beneath the dome and saw himself in its reflection, then he saw something that made him mentally curse himself. Beneath his feet, there were small, yellow dots, dots that he had made earlier on. This was infuriating! He'd been playing the fool, walking around in circles and finding nothing. He might as well just sit down here and wait for the humans to return so they could kick him outside because at this rate it was exactly where he was going to end up.
Some movement down a corridor to his left caught his eye. A shadowy figure had appeared at the end of the corner and was making its way towards him. There was something very off about his general shape. Too bumpy, too uneven. The shape paused for a second, lifted its hand and made writing movements in the sky. Dust that had settled on the ground floated up from its resting place and formed into letters in front of the figure.
"WHO GOES THERE?"
Parset froze, brain racing. He'd been caught in this place unawares and was probably in deep trouble. In lieu of a better plan, he opted to do what he always did when he was caught somewhere he shouldn't be; he pretended to be drunk.
---
Loran heard footsteps coming from around the corner of the corridor the trail had led him to. Remaining as silent as his training had allowed him, he peered around the corner, keeping careful to remain concealed stealthily in the shadows. The sight that greeted his eyes was that of a midget wearing a top hat, carrying a swag, waving his arms about and stumbling to and fro, making vague guestures towards something down the corridor to the left. Whoever, or whatever, it was appeared to be intoxicated, but if this was a trap then it could be just a clever act.
A grinning face appeared at his shoulder. Greyve bared his teeth in a smug display of self-satisfaction.
"Told you so."