How many goodly creatures are there here! :: GAME OPENER

[synergismus]

Welcome to Baedal.

These are the first words newcomers hear when the door opens and they are invited into their new world. Some fuss, some fight, some need time before they have the courage to step outside. Others, shell-shocked or jaded, go quietly along with the proceedings.

They are given brief instructions; a repeat of what's described in the pamphlet and a door key.

Please stay in your room. There will be dinner soon.

It's been almost a day for some. For others, only an hour's wait. The latest newcomer is lead straight from the arrival room to the dining hall where candles and lanterns have been set out to compensate for failing electricity. (Those who have been here longer explain about rolling blackouts.) The food, however, is warm, varied and plentiful. Seating is open, and less conventional chair are available to those who need them.

There are many strange faces around the table, the majority of these recent arrivals. The proprietor of the Valhalla Inn is here, as is some of her staff. The Sheriff of Mog Hill is introduced, his function detailed. The reason for the dinner is explained:

It's a celebration. A new cohort has finally been officiated; CeidaryBlue523. Your cohort. Please. Introduce yourself. Mingle. Get to know your fellows, they will be your brothers and sisters for as long as you live in this city.


((OOC post for discussion and coordination.))

Comments

[coffeeking]

Ianto was annoyed enough at life, Baedal, and everything right now that when someone ran into him rounding a corner, he was fully prepared to be perfectly rude about it and snap at them to watch where they were going. But then hew knew the hands on him, knew that voice, and saw Jack.

"Jack!" He couldn't help but sound relieved, his hands going up automatically to grasp onto his Captain. "You're here! But how--"

He'd been about to ask how Jack found him so quickly when it sunk in that Jack's behavior wasn't the behavior of someone who was expecting to see him, much less someone who was looking for him.

[51stcentury]

Jack's smile faltered a little as Ianto cut himself off, not knowing exactly where Ianto was going with that comment but knowing that the other man had realized something that he'd changed his mind about whatever it was that he was saying. On one hand, he was happy that Ianto was there with him. On the other hand, he hadn't figured out where there was, and. Maybe this place was dangerous, and if so he couldn't in his right mind be happy that Ianto was there.

"I went through a doorway in the sewers, and suddenly I was here." He paused for a moment, before a thought came to him. "You did just come from Weevil hunting with me, right? Like. Actually Weevil hunting, rather than what we both know we'd have rather been doing."

[coffeeking]

The fear Ianto had earlier been trying so hard to mask beneath anger came back to him at the realization that Jack wasn't here to rescue him at all. They'd both been kidnapped. Brilliant. But at least he wouldn't have to go this alone, and that was an utter relief.

He nodded. "I was in the SUV. One second I was monitoring your location, and the next I was in one of the rooms here. Can you believe this?! Do they really expect us to just say, 'Oh, that's alright then, glad to be here. We'll just get a job and settle in like good little citizens!' And they had my diary...!" He brought the diary up to show Jack, the look on his face one of outraged offense. He was working under the assumption that Jack had read the pamphlet as well, which he would soon recall to be contradictory to Jack's personal style of jumping in head first.

[51stcentury]

Jack's eyebrows furrow. "...is that what they expect us to do? Accept that we're stuck here and set up camp?" Obviously, Jack was not a manual reading sort. He glanced at the diary that Ianto raised up to show him. "Tell you what, the more I find out about this place, the more I'm not liking it. Are you telling me that you weren't even going anywhere, you just blinked and showed up here, in a completely different place from where you were before?" Jack at least had made the action of stepping into the other place, but. If it'd stolen Ianto...

He gave him a once over, unconsciously keeping the hand that he'd brought out to brace Ianto from toppling over on his shoulder as he did so. "Are you alright? They haven't done anything to you, have they?"

[coffeeking]

"I'm fine, Jack," he sought to reassure immediately, squeezing Jack's arm lightly where he held him. "I didn't even feel anything. Like you said, I blinked and I was standing in that room. If anything more was involved, I don't remember it."

It was entirely possible they'd dragged Ianto physically out of the SUV, forced him to retrieve his diary, given him some form of retcon and tossed him in that room, but somehow this struck Ianto as a rather more subtle and elegant operation.

"You didn't read the pamphlet, did you?" He eyed Jack with long-suffering resignation. Honestly, it was just like him.

[51stcentury]

Jack shot Ianto a look that clearly said something along the lines of, 'why are you even asking me that question, you already know the answer.'

"So you ended up in this place and then they led you here and told you to stay in your room and that dinner would be ready?" Jack said, continuing on without actually answering Ianto aloud there. He needed to be sure, that what was happening for him was happening for Ianto as well. Maybe... Maybe he was hallucinating all of this? It wasn't really likely, but it was possible, after all.

[coffeeking]

"That's the gist of it," Ianto replied succinctly. "And you should read the pamphlet, Jack. It's like one of our tourist pamphlets, only with more condescension and it doesn't want you to know where the airport is." A pause. "Or I could summarize, if you like."

Because Ianto knows a lost cause when he's heading right toward one.

[51stcentury]

Jack shook his head, cocking a wry smile at the other man. "Why would I ever read the pamphlet, especially now that I've got you around to explain what it says for me?" he said, in response to Ianto's suggestion that he read it. "Go ahead, summarize away. I'll probably get it better this way anyway. Never really was much for reading, anyway." Well. That was a lie. He read things that he wanted to read, but why read when you could explore, after all.

[coffeeking]

Ianto rolled his eyes, but smiled. He knew Jack liked reading just fine, but sometimes he liked Ianto's Welsh vowels more. Obliging, he pulled out the pamphlet for reference and proceeded.

"According to a Mrs. K. C. Burnworth, we are to be congratulated, as we have been Chosen -- with a capital C -- to become citizens of this wondrous city." The sarcasm is painfully dry.

"We've been warned not to regret or question our fate, such as it is, lest we -- and I quote -- 'find reason for true regret.'" He paused, looking meaningfully at Jack and raising a very expressive eyebrow. "Interesting choice of words for such a free and prosperous city. My money's on dystopia, for the record."

He looked back down at the pamphlet. "We and the other new arrivals are all members of the same cohort, so we're meant to look out for each other. We're all required to find homes and jobs, and there are some rather blatant suggestions that slackers won't be tolerated. The local religion is made up of multiple gods, and the local law is enforced by the Militia, which judging by the vague tone regarding them, are about as creepy as they sound."

Shutting the pamphlet, he tucked it back into his jacket pocket. "In good news, this place is also supposedly a democracy."

[51stcentury]

Jack shot Ianto a dubious look. "...what, they just expect us to be uprooted and deposited here and then happily set up camp? And what the hell do they mean, 'find reason for true regret'?" Jack let out a noise of frustration. "Could they be any more vague about all of this?"

Alright, so he wasn't adjusting to the idea that they were supposed to be stuck there indefinitely very well. "Ianto, you don't seriously believe all of this, do you? There's... There's gotta be some way out of here. Wherever the hell 'here' is..." At least he had Ianto there with him. That was probably the biggest blessing that he had gotten out of this whole thing, even if it meant that Ianto was just as much stuck wherever they were as he was.

[coffeeking]

"Of course there's a way out. If they brought us here, they can send us back. But somehow I doubt they're going to do it willingly, and we don't have enough information about any of this. Why abduct people in the first place? Why us? And more importantly, how?"

Ianto was already mentally working to find a way out, but in the meantime it was entirely probable they'd have to play along or risk being seen as a threat. Ianto knew that, but he was reluctant to mention it to Jack. Jack didn't like playing along or giving in, even just temporarily. He liked to find a solution quickly, even if it caused a great deal of fuss.

[51stcentury]

Jack was definitely an 'act now, question whether things could have been done better later' kind of guy, that was for certain. Generally, questioning his initial reaction cost not only time but lives, though, so he had his reasons to be the way that he was.

"Shit," he said, running a hand through his hair, "I don't like this, Ianto. I can't even get a good reading on where we are with my wriststrap. It's like we've been pulled out of our own dimension completely." He'd never experienced anything like it before. And like he said, he didn't like it at all. "Have you talked to anyone else yet? Maybe there's some sort of a connection between us all..."

[coffeeking]

Ianto frowned, deeply concerned that Jack couldn't get a reading on their location. The idea of being in another dimension, of having no point of reference whatsoever, was much more frightening than the idea of simply being on another planet.

"Not yet, but I was thinking we ought to strike up some conversation with the others, see if we have anything in common. We'll cover more ground more quickly if we head for different areas and meet up after." He didn't really like the idea of leaving Jack, but his pride protested against his insecurity and insisted they'd both be fine on their own for a bit. This was a strange place, but they were both capable people and they'd dealt with worse.

[51stcentury]

Jack nodded. He didn't like the idea of splitting up either, but he knew that they would get more information that way, Ianto appealing to some while he appealed to others. Shouldn't be too hard, flirting the information out of them. He couldn't pull rank exactly, but he was no stranger to flirting the talking out of people either. "Yeah, alright," he said. "That sounds like a plan if ever there was one. You have everything that you had with you in the SUV, right? In case there's more to this situation than meets the eye..." He didn't like how cheery everything was, for one. It was kind of giving him the creeps. "I don't like this," he said again, repeating for the sake of repeating himself.

[coffeeking]

Ianto nodded, making a subtle gesture to the spot where his gun was holstered under his jacket. He didn't say anything, in case anyone was listening or watching, but his meaning would be clear to Jack. "I don't like it either. But the sooner we get the lay of the land, the sooner we can escape. Shall we meet back here in say, an hour?"

An hour sounded like sufficient time to talk to at least a few people and compare notes. Everyone would likely be readily talkative, in any case.

[51stcentury]

Jack nodded. "Yeah, alright. From there we can go back to one of our assigned rooms and compare notes." He didn't like the idea of talking about it in the hallway where they were. It was just like Ianto was figuring. He didn't want anyone listening in that might not like the idea that the pair of them weren't exactly enthused to have been uprooted and planted here like this.

Jack didn't know what this exploring of the inn would entitle, or what sorts of people they might encounter on the way. That being said, he felt entirely justified in stepping forward, cupping Ianto's cheek in his hand and kissing him soundly, stroking where his hand lay on Ianto's face for a moment before pulling back. "Be careful, alright? No offending the locals, or anything like that. At least this place seems to be a little above roasting people over an open bonfire, but let's not take our chances..."

[coffeeking]

The kiss was comforting, grounding Ianto and helping him focus on the task at hand. All his scattered thoughts and looming worries faded under Jack's touch. He had a job to do and Jack was there, relying on him. That was all he had to worry about right now; the rest could wait.

"I'll be on my best behavior," he promised. "And the same goes for you. I don't want to find you dead because you were rude to some out-of-sorts alien." Everyone here was likely to be on edge, and Jack could be less than tactful at the best of times.

[51stcentury]

"I can't make any promises, but I'll try," Jack said, with a wide grin that said exactly what he was saying, that he was equal parts business and mischief. "At least you know that if I get myself in trouble, number one, I'll be alright, and number two, I'll have you here to come and find me and rescue me out of it."

He sobered a little bit. "But yes. I'll try." He shot a little salute at Ianto after that, grinning wider again. "Do me proud, yeah?"

[coffeeking]

Ianto shook his head, smiling despite himself, resigned that Jack was probably right. Things often tended to go pear-shaped despite Jack's best efforts, so all Ianto could ask for was the attempt. And it was genuinely appreciated.

"Always," he promised, and then turned on his heel, shooting a wink back over his shoulder. "See you in an hour, then."

[51stcentury]

Jack grinned at the wink, watching the other man head down the hallway away from him with a smile. "In an hour! Don't be late!" he called out after him, knowing full well that he would probably be the one not to show up on time. Ianto was nothing if not punctual. After a moment of watching Ianto head down the hallway, Jack turned in the other direction and continued that way, on the mission to find out just what the hell was going on there exactly...

AN HOUR LATER...

[coffeeking]

Ianto arrived back at the location he'd left Jack, having spoken to fewer people than he'd hoped, but having gathered more information than he knew how to deal with. If he allowed himself to dwell too long on any of it, he began to feel queasy.

"Christ..." he muttered, leaning wearily against the wall as he waited for Jack.

[51stcentury]

Jack walked up a few minutes after the time he said he would, because he never really got anywhere when he said after all. Even from a distance, the way that Ianto was leaning against the wall was a bit concerning, and so when he got to him he put a hand out on his shoulder, rubbing it slightly. "Hey," he said. "You alright?"

[coffeeking]

"Define 'alright'," Ianto said a little dryly. But reassuringly, he took a steadying breath and made an effort to stand up straight again.

"I didn't talk to many people, but the few I did talk to gave me more than enough to chew on. Shall we go somewhere less public?" He glanced down the hallway. There was no one there, as far as he could see, but one never knew.

[51stcentury]

Jack nodded, rubbing Ianto's shoulder gently, absently, as he held out his other hand to motion down the hallway. Something in Ianto's behavior said that he'd found something pretty big out, and Jack was ridiculously curious to find out what it was to have shaken the other man so. "Sure," he said. "Your room or mine? Those are really the only places where I think we're the safest having no one walk in and interrupt us."

[coffeeking]

"Mine's just down the hall." It didn't make much different which room they chose, and although he had no idea where Jack's was, Ianto's was just around the corner and down a few doors. He moved as Jack prompted, leading the way and trying not to think too much about the headache he was developing.

When they came to the correct door, Ianto stepped inside and held it open for Jack. The room was sparse and not terribly inviting, but with any luck, neither of them would have to stay in the inn long.