| Opening Log

[shadowqueen]

Everyone's waking up at once, covered in bits of rubble, temporarily without abilities and with a lurking headache. The castle looms around them, irrepressibly gray, huge and silent. The only noises are the people, rustling as they extract themselves from their sarcophagi and look for exits along the arching walkways.

Better take a look around, and see if anyone else knows what's going on.

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Comments

[kaderp]

[Kadar can't help but flush slightly. Such a high skirt-- but she seems like such a nice lady! He averts his eyes hurriedly.]

O-- oh! [don't stammer, Kadar, that will just make her feel awkward--] I understand! It would be harder to climb in those.

[...though, he is a little curious--] Isn't it painful to simply walk in those?

[pridegoesbefore]

They're designed for looking lovely while standing and sitting and little else. [Blushing, stammering, averting his eyes-- she has stockings on, but it really ought to have occurred to her that he'd be unused to modern fashions - or modern by Pureblood standards. She'll blame her headache and let her cloak fall closed.]

Not overly painful if one is taught to walk properly in them-- and some shoes can be agony if one wears them too long.

Shall we..? [Best not to make a fuss. Narcissa has no issue with her clothing.]

[kaderp]

Oh-- yes! I will ll do all the climbing. [a little sheepishly, but he's going to dart ahead and scout a little and then bounce back. He has endless energy, all headaches aside.]

If your feet begin to hurt, tell me!

[pridegoesbefore]

Oh, I will.

[And she picks her way carefully through the rubble behind him.]

[kaderp]

[he stays mostly on the ground, this time, so he can kick aside any of the worst bits of rock and things that are in her way.]

In Masyaf, our fashions are very different from yours. [sort of idly; he's the sort to make conversation.]

[pridegoesbefore]

[Noted. She steps with more surety, though still not with anything approaching speed.]

I had gathered as much. If, as you say, we're all from different points in time, then you'll probably see all sorts of fashions you aren't-- oops-- used to.

[Hidden pebble, wobbly shoe.]

[kaderp]

Yes, I expect so! Everything in Masyaf was-- light fabrics, to cover the entire body. Modesty, and also to prevent sunburn. [a little teasingly.]

Also the ease of fabrics-- I do not think we have the materials to make things like your shoes.

[pridegoesbefore]

You're from a desert, then?

[Careful steps, careful steps. She wishes her head would stop aching and her magic would work.]

[kaderp]

Yes! Have you heard of-- Jerusalem, or Acre? Damascus? Masyaf is near there. The days are long and hot and the nights are cold, so we favor covering as much of the body as possible for practicality.

[and then, as an afterthought;] Many also do it for religion.

[pridegoesbefore]

I have, yes-- [Hrm.] You're Muslim? [Adjusting her cloak.] In eleven-ninety-one? [Because that's not a nice time to be a Muslim, really. All those crusaders...]

[kaderp]

[he shakes his head a little.] I am not, but many are. I follow no religion.

[pridegoesbefore]

Neither do I, which I daresay makes my life easier.

[She's not assuming it's the same for him.

There's a skittering sound as she toes aside a smallish rock.]

[kaderp]

I think so, as well. To act with only the knowledge of my own morality is much better compass, I feel, than to live fearing an eternity in a Heaven or Hell based on my own deeds.

[pridegoesbefore]

Answering to oneself certainly makes for simpler justification--


--I am not climbing that.

[kaderp]

[he eyes the obstacle in their path with consideration, then glances back at Narcissa.] I can help you over it, if you would like.

[pridegoesbefore]

[Doubt and a hint of derision colour her expression.]

You'd have to carry me-- no, I'll find a way around it.

[kaderp]

I can carry you. It will go quicker, I think.

[pridegoesbefore]

No, no! I'll manage!

[She craves intimacy, but it needs to be at a point where she's comfortable. Being carried by a stranger doesn't meet that criteria.]

[kaderp]

But-- are you sure? [He frowns, a little taken aback, and then he considers for a long moment.]

Would you like my boots, then? They will be too big, but-- I am used to going without, and it will not slow me down any, and they are certainly easier to climb in! [he'd offer her his robes, too, but they wouldn't actually help cover anything.]

[pridegoesbefore]

Perfectly sure. I'll find another way around it.

[She gathers her cloak more firmly around herself and begins to pick out a path to the left of the pile of rubble. Her high heels are not suitable for this, so her steps are deliberate, delicate and precise.]

[kaderp]

If you are certain... [he looks a little unsure, and after a moment, he jumps over to help kick some of the rubble out of the way-- and in a few cases, lift it up and roll it out of the way. stronger than he looks, go!]

[pridegoesbefore]

[Well. That's certainly helpful; with her magic not working yet, Narcissa wasn't about to do any sort of manual labour and would have picked an easier if more circuitous path-- but since he's taken the initiative...]

--I do hope the rest of this place isn't as dilapidated.

[kaderp]

From what I have seen so far, I'm afraid it all is. [HRNGH that's a bigger piece of rubble, and he strains a little when he drops it, hood falling off as he stumbles.]

--This place must have been unoccupied for quite awhile...

[pridegoesbefore]

[His exertions expose what is unmistakeably a human femur.]

Or previous hostages didn't survive to escape their sarcophagi... ugh, that's morbid. Now I'm wondering how many dead people are around us--

[She stops short, staring at him. What if there are people she knows here? Or worse, knew?]

[kaderp]

[He frowns at the femur for a long moment before going over and putting it carefully inside one of the larger pieces of sarcophagus, laying another on top of it. It's the best he can do as far as a burial goes, right now.]

It seems they have all been here... long before any of us arrived.