warpweft | [ENTER THE PALACE]

[You find yourself with a sensation like floating in water.]

[Above, the sky is dark. You can occasionally see things shifting, like gusts of wind, or perhaps waves of water. Is it…even a sky above you? Or is it some kind of giant ocean? Whatever it is, you can’t make it out very well. All around you, you appear to be floating in what appears to be water. It looks like a great, wide ocean of…space in every direction around you, with stars and lights twinkling in the distance. It looks like water and feels like water, but it doesn’t make you wet. You can reach your hand into it and pull some out, the purple and violet water and the tiny points of light inside it will even rest in your hands if you cup them to carry it, but once you’re not trying to hold it anymore, it’ll flow off of you, not a single drop remaining behind. You feel something similar if you go underneath the surface. The “water” doesn’t touch your eyes, mouth or nose when give the chance, it merely drifts around you, allowing you to breathe and see unabated. And you can see for a great distance, the twinkling stars illuminating the ocean of space all around you. Though perhaps less dark and empty, it feels every bit as vast as the sky above. You feel like you could swim forever and never reach the edge.]

[It’s quiet, here, with little noise around you but the starry ocean’s waves crashing back into its surface. It’s peaceful. In another situation, it might even be comfortable.]

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[You step into the living room of, honestly, a pretty nice apartment! At the opposite end of the room, there’s an open door leading out into the balcony (where there…isn’t a huge storm coming in through the open door?), a big TV hanging on the wall and an exceptionally soft looking couch and equally comfy easy chairs positioned around it. The couch must be as comfortable as it looks, because there’s a black cat napping on it, currently catching a sunbeam from the open balcony. It regards you for a second, then goes back to lounging. Up against one wall is a large fully stocked bookshelf that appears to have books on most of the shelves, but DVDs on the bottom. There's a wireless phone sitting in its dock on the coffee table....Nessa apparently still has a landline? There's also a drawer under the coffee table that appears to be for board games. ]

[Up on the wall, there’s a kitschy little carved wooden sign - it reads “WELCOME TO THE WITCH HOUSE” and it has a little painting of a witch on a broomstick on it. As you look around, a young woman comes from the kitchen holding a tray with two cups and some snacks on it.]

It sounded pretty bad out there, so I thought I’d get some hot cocooooohhhhhh, it got you pretty good, huh….!

[She sets the tray down on the coffee table in front of the couch.]

Uh, I’ll get a towel too! Please, just make yourself at home! We can talk in a second!

[She trots off down a hallway to another part of the apartment.]

[You’re currently in the Living Room. You can explore the Kitchen or the Hallway. Or you can just stay here and drink some hot cocoa and wait for that towel.]

[ you know what she's gonna do. she's gonna take a Short Rest. perches. on. the couch.

safely away from the napping cat. ]

[The girl comes back with a towel and....oh....the couch is getting wet..........but it's fine! She doesn't say anything about it!]

Oh! Do you need to rest? Would you like me to get you some tea and a pillow?

I did not mean to intrude. I was... looking for someone.

[ but he must already be gone. she stands again, moving to take the towel if she'll let her. ]

Oh, of course not! You're not an intruder, you're here to help!

Minato came by earlier, but he left to go take care of some stuff elsewhere in the palace. We were working on something, but I have some work to do before we can proceed, I'm gonna send him a message when it's ready again....

[She hands Sprezzatura the towel. Warm and fluffy! It’s just what you need after braving that storm. The girl tucks her hands behind her back.]

Oh, uh. [She sticks her hand out to shake.] I’m Nell, I’m Nessa’s cousin! And… [She gestures around the two of you.] This is her apartment! Uh. Our apartment, I guess. I live here with her. And this… [She reaches a hand on the cat napping there. He lets out a ‘mrrrrp’ and rolls over.] Is Puck!

If you want to rest a while and wait here for Minato, feel free! I think he'll be back, eventually!

[ she wraps herself in the towel, shivering despite her tiefling warmth. ]

He will be fine. [ :) ] He is smart boy. I am Ms Vaux. Pleased to meet you. Have you seen piece of clocktower about?

A clocktower....? Like Big Ben?

No, I don't think so. I think there's a clocktower in the South Wing though, I think....

Ahhh. [ no such luck, then. as she begins to towel her hair: ] Then perhaps... as Nessa's cousin, do you know how to "empower one's Spark"?

Oh! Oh, yes!

[She pulls out her phone and starts typing. Then she shows Sprezzatura her phone.]

You can do that in the NessaShop!

It costs 500 NessaPoints. It's a lot, but it's definitely worth it!

Gah! I just spent these points!

Eheheh....!

[She rubs the back of her head.]

Y-yeah....! There's a lot of neat stuff in there, it's pretty tempting to just buy it, huh...?

But you can always earn more!

How? I do not understand how I earned any in first place. Whatever I need to do, I will do it.

Oh, you use one of the apps on your phone, I think!

[She brings up the app and shows it to her.]

I have a quest I can give you that can get you started, if you'd like...but if you're hurt or exhausted, you should probably rest...

[You are being offered a quest. You can also Rest (restore HP to full). Do you want to:
> Accept Quest
> Rest
> NEITHER!!!!!!]

[ the secret third option: both. she sort of dumbly thumbs through the app, feeling utterly overwhelmed by the language and navigation... ]

Perhaps you tell me of this quest while I rest?

Sure! One second, I'll be right back!

[She leaves again and returns with....a pillow and a cup of green tea! She hands Sprezzatura the pillow and sets the tea on the table.]

[ oh! she'll take the pillow and curl up, yeah. once she's comfortable, she lets out a little huff like a cat and looks to Nell. ]

Tell me, miss.

Okay, well. I was trying to think of a way we could help you guys find the Voidheart and I was exploring a little bit with Puck. And Puck jumped into the air and landed on something and for a second, I thought he was just floating in the air, and I was surprised, 'cause I didn't even know Puck could do that! But it turned out he wasn't floating, he had found this crystal that was floating in the air instead! So I studied the crystal for a while and I figured out that it contains....

[Something about the softness of the couch, the warmth of the pillow, the toll of your journey so far or maybe just Nell's....very thorough explanation....whatever it is, you feel your eyes growing heavier....]

[And before you know it, they've closed.]

[ENTER THE PALACE]

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