The Infinite House

Meeting Room: Sacred Place Lambda

The day to day routine of the Infinite House would be a regular thing for the various employees of the extra dimensional home away from home. Meals would be provided first thing by currently active kitchen team, producing meals to the dietary specifications of both employees and the guests staying within one of the seemingly infinite rooms of the impossible architecture. For those that didn't require food the small period in the morning could be used for activity provided to employees during their rest periods, from the vast libraries to any of the rooms used for entertainment. However eventually it became time to 'clock in' so to speak, and for a number of those within the house's employment would start their day not with regular duties but in an hour long orientation to familiarize themselves with their new team.

As the various employees came in each would be greeted by a miniature version of the Butler, who had chosen to take on the appearance of a floating robe etched in sky blues with images of a cloudy day in constant movement over the fabric. "An hour has been set aside for you to get to know your new team members before daily duties are to be assigned. Use this time to socialize and understand those you will be working with. I don't ask for you to become the best of friends, but you must learn to tolerate one another."

With that the image of Butler would disappear, leaving those assembled in the room to go about their business. Said room was one of the more impressive within the House, containing works of art from various realities, coming across as a cathedral to the arts rather then a basic meeting room. It was the perfect place for people to share their culture, as a vast number of realities were all represented in the room. The ceiling extended high into the air, with lifts provided to reach high enough that some light whisp like clouds could form, however the magic inherent to the room prevent any moisture from touching the artwork.

Dorothy Travers: To the Meeting Room

Dorothy had been familiarising herself with the local cuisine when the time came around to get to work, so she neatly stacked her plates once she'd finished and stood up to curtsy towards the staff who had provided her meal. Once that was done, she picked up her suitcase and placed it on its side; stretching it vertically to shape it into a doorway which she then stepped through, shutting the lid behind her. Naught but a second later, she stepped out again in her maid's attire, having changed from her morning wear in an instant thanks to her suitcase's magic.

In actuality, she had dressed meticulously for about an hour, including makeup and final touches, but time was a bendable thing and so it was no huge deal to her. Shrinking her suitcase down again and picking it up once more, she strode off towards the meeting room at a brisk pace, nodding politely to those she brushed past before entering what was essentially an atrium in terms of architecture.

"An hour will do. Let it be so," she sniffed in response to the Butler, keeping herself faced firmly towards him until the moment he disappeared before she even thought about turning to face the others present. "My humble greetings. My name is Dorothy Travers, or 'Dolly' if you must, and I will be a colleague of you all in our undertaking of this great project; if it's all the same to you."

Kyra Fyrax, trying to not be a mobile brownnote. Again. (Meeting room)

She entered this reality and from the moving darkness, a humanoid figure would form. After being a fire for a few moments, her vessel formed. At 6'4", her humanoid frame gave away that she was not human. Her clothing is relatively simple. A dark gray hooded jacket that is unzipped. Under that is what appears to be casual clothing with a red vest over a black long sleeved shirt. The other spot of color on her clothing is a red miniskirt, with pants being worn as well. Her shoes being military boots would be an oddball in the trend of her outfit though.

She tried to speak and... what came out what garbled nonsense that sounded wrong. She was trying to announce her presence to the room.

Oh #$@*, she nearly used her eldritch voice setting... So for now she looks around and decides to use sign language instead until her voice is back to normalish.

Sign language: "Hello, if anyone can understand this... I have my reasons to not speak right now. I'm Kyra. I hope someone else here understands sign language... or is ok with me opting for telepathy instead."

Edited by sci300768 on Jan 18th 2023 at 6:48:23 AM

Erica faked a smile, something she had gotten very good at indeed over her lifetime. It was obvious this other woman would not be very pleasant company. She took her absurd profession far too seriously, was proud of it even. Erica herself could barely even conceptualize the idea of helping others. Someone who would willingly suffer this indignity didn't even deserve to exist. Nevertheless, it would be foolish to alienate any potential allies or pawns. This wretch might turn out to be useful, or at the very least a source of entertainment. With that in mind, Erica extended her hand.

"You can call me Erica, Erica Emerson. It's a pleasure to meet you all"

Madeline — Maid to Serve

Madeline had no need to change. She wore the same clothes from dawn until dusk. Her apron and maroon dress were neatly pressed, her purple hair sprucely combed, golden hands polished to a sheen. She carried herself with grace and poise, giving the floor a quick sweep before the ceremonies began, whistling as she worked. Her movements were a bit stiff, her skin pale, but it was clear she loved her job. She performed a curtsey, carefully calculated for peak elegance.

"Greetings to one and all. I am M.A.I.D Unit #153, but you may call me Madeline if it is more convenient. As a loyal retainer of this household, I look forward to your humble assistance in maintaining its upkeep. All I ask is that you treat this house and its staff with proper respect. I have worked in this dwelling for approximately seven thousand and sixty three days, eight hours, ten minutes and seven seconds. There may be others who have served longer, but it is a proud accomplishment. If you are in need of assistance or are concerned about proper conduct, do not be afraid to ask."

Edited by kkhohoho on Jan 18th 2023 at 9:32:32 AM

Johann

As everyone was introducing themselves, Johann remained awfully quiet. For good reason, as it turned out, as he had not even noticed that anybody had entered the room for several minutes. He was way too engrossed with a particulary beautiful fresco at right side of the room, which depicted a group of people and objects in allegorical positions, seemingly showcasing a historical event. He lacked the context for it, so he sadly had no idea what it was about exactly, but it was still fascinating. It looked at least a few centuries old and some of the colour had gone pale, with surrounding dust slowly darken the whole piece around the edges. He would need to devote some time to restoring it. Then again, he should probably ask first, since the last time he had taken an art-piece off unanounced had been...unpleasant.

"Tempted to take it anyway, though. Better to ask for forgivenes, rather than permission...", he mumbled to himself, turning around with a hand on his chin.

Only then did he notice the four other women in the room. Caught briefly by surprise, Johann blinked two times, before putting on an embarassed smile. "Oh dear, apologies. I didn't mean to be so rude, as to ignore you all.", he quickly said, brushing some of his long, brown hair out and stepping up to the others. "This place just keeps distracting me with all its fascets and secrets. I should have gotten used to it by now, but...well..."

He gave each one present a polite and curteous nod. "My name is Johann Askander. I am a scholar of the holy and occult. An artificer and artist in my free time and I have dabbled in psychology, as well. However useful that will be, remains to be seen.", he said with a self-aware smile.

He looked over Kyra and gestured in sign language back. "I am happy to translate for you, should this be easier for communication. I suppose, you want to avoid speaking in your native language currently?" He was, admittedly, a bit rusty and his gestures weren't one hundred percent accurate, but at the very least he could read what Kyra was signing.

Edited by TheNohen on Jan 19th 2023 at 5:56:19 PM

Morning - Waking Nightmare

"00001—-"Uuuuuust——Uuuuuuuuuust——STYYYYYYYYY——" The nightmare of sleep proved every bit as visceral and frightful as the waking world he'd known. At least he could move when he was awake. Defend himself. Do something! But here, he felt like he was bound by something between straps and leathery human fingers as someone or something lurched around the corner to his room. "0000Iiiiiime—-Fooooorrrrr——Sch-Sch-Sch—-eeeeheheheeeeeeh——Eeeety—-!!"

The thing was tall, fae, and grasping - long fingers extended past any reasonable length. It was long and spider-like in every way, scuttling and scooting with a jerking movement toward him. Its face concealed by its stringy hair. Its figure a mockery of a mature human female.

Yet even as Nathaniel felt fear toward it, something stirred inside him instead. He felt a yawning sense of rage. He wanted more to hit and shatter the fae creature to a million pieces as he sat there, despite the fear he felt at its vile visage. Something else arose within him, besides his own reaction—-

And then, he woke.

And he screamed into his pillow.

After a moment, Nathaniel ruminated - on the oddity of a robot dreaming. How much he disliked the fact he needed that quantifier. How he wished he could've stayed with her. But the fact was—-he couldn't. He'd been brought out of a bad, possibly disastrous situation, met Madeline there...and then it all happened the way it did.

Later on, when the time came for duties, Nathaniel just sighed and made sure he had on his best. A suit, a coat, dress pants, a bow tie, and his usual shirt underneath just in case. He looked in the mirror as he got ready for work. He had a perplexingly long time to serve here, but he figured it was a lot, repairing the situation where he came from.

As he looked in the mirror, he saw himself. The fact he did seemed...notable, somehow. As if by some tack he might not do so.

And seeing the others gathered here as he walked in, hearing the announcement of an hour set aside to get to know people...

Well, why not, at this rate. It never hurt to be friendly. Seeing that introductions were underway, he shifted his posture as if expecting to blush. Even though, well, he couldn't. "I uh. I'm Nathaniel...and I don't have a last name. I was never really given one. I'm..." He straightened up a bit and smiled brightly, "I'm glad to meet you all."

Dorothy Travers: Meeting Room

Dorothy had by this point taken out a leather-bound book from her suitcase, which she promptly began writing names down on as she heard them. Erica Emerson. Madeline. Johann Askander. Nathaniel. That was two so far with no family names. Both automatons. Though Nathaniel acted as if he was lamenting the loss of his. Hmm.

Pausing for a moment, Dorothy stared at Kyra for a prolonged amount of time. She'd missed her signage, and so couldn't possibly have—

"Kyra Fyrax, is that right?" Dorothy asked, giving Kyra a small but apologetic smile as she bowed her head slightly. "Forgive me, I wasn't paying enough attention to your manner of communication. From here on out, I will be adjusted to you, if that's acceptable. Three ears are better than two."

She did not elaborate on what she meant by that, instead writing Kyra's name down and adding the note 'sign language' next to it so that it would not slip Dorothy's mind. She continued writing down names as she heard them, but otherwise paid more attention to the others now.

"All of you have wonderfully interesting and unique tales to tell, but I'm afraid I haven't much else to speak of about myself. So forgive me if I am quiet of tongue in socialisation. I'll find other things to speak about," she said. "Normally I don't speak much with other members of staff, but I believe this is a special case, don't you think...?"

Madeline

"You have my apologies as well, Madame Kyra. As a fellow servant, I should have been more attentive. I am programmed with multiple forms of sign language, so there should be no difficulties in communication.

Madeline was largely pleased, if somewhat miffed. She had gone to the trouble of introducing herself and no one had said a word. But they hadn't done anything disrespectful. So long as they behaved themselves, she could tolerate being snubbed. She greeted Nathanial. She didn't know much about him, but she was happy to see another non-organic.

"It is good to meet you as well, Sir Nathanial. It's a pleasure to speak with a fellow mechanical. But I must say, you don't appear to be built for this sort of work. Are you a Comrade Robot by chance? I mean no disrespect, but I am curious."

Edited by kkhohoho on Jan 19th 2023 at 11:04:34 AM

Erica turned and smiled at Johann, genuinely this time. Normally she would have ignored him, but other than the mute woman, everybody else seemed so frightfully dull that a mention of any sort of interest beyond cleaning and housework piqued her interest.

"Looks like we have something in common. I was a summoner by trade before I came here. Still am I suppose. What specific areas did you find interesting?"

Kyra - Meeting room

Huh so others DO know sign language. She looks at Johann and signs back.

sign language: I was worried that I have to resort to telepathy for robots. At least nearly everyone recognizes this. And my native language is a brown note to mortals. Literally.

At least robot minds are not as fragile as mortal ones. That's a good thing.

Johann

Johann nodded sagely, as Kyra explained her situation. "Oh, certainly. We wouldn't want any accident or unwanted attention. I appreciate, that you are so considerate towards mortal people. It's all too uncommon.", he said, knowing now that she was able to understand him. "I will translate for the others, until we find a more convenient way of communicating. Perhaps, with enough time and your permission, I could try and work on a translation device for you. Or maybe a censor, for safety?"

Idle musing right now, of course. First he would have to figure out the properties of her speech, nevermind any unspoken metaphysical rules her kind was subject to. Eldritch Kind was such a broad term, which could include any number of species and beings, that were completely alien to one another.

"Hmm...a term about as useful and accurate as 'fish'...", he mumbled to himself.

Johann was brought out of his contemplation, when the woman named Erica adressed him. She certainly was easy on the eyes and tall, as well. He tipped his non-existent hat, as he turned his attention towards her. "What a welcome surprise to find a fellow interested in the strange and occult here.", he noted.

Something was...off about this woman. He could not put quite the finger on it, but something in the back of his mind told him to be careful. Perhaps it was the polite smile that never reached her eyes. Maybe that ever so subtle tinge behind her words, all so imperceptible. It reminded Johann of certain devils he had once conversed with. The slight sense of dread was all too familiar here.

Still no reason to be impolite and whatever she was hiding, he wasn't about to prod. All things in due time, after all. "Oh, what is not interesting? In my time I talked with angels, dealt with demons and even had the fortune of exploring the secrets of things that probably should have remained as such. To put it simply..." He gave her a genuinely warm and excited smile. "I am one who is enticed by the Hidden in and of itself. Quite greedy in that regard."

He looked around the room meaningfully. "As such, one could say I am in just the right place."

Edited by TheNohen on Jan 22nd 2023 at 8:23:44 PM

Erica couldn't quite gauge this man. There were a potentially infinite number of useful imbeciles in the multiverse, and a disturbingly large proportion of them fancied themselves quite brilliant. In many ways this man resembled such fools, but there was also an authenticity to him. His interest in the Occult seemed genuine and well developed, not the product of self delusion like with so many others. It was frustrating, but she would have to wait to see more before she could make an accurate judgement.

"I guess you are. Truly a remarkable place this house, isn't it? An artificial axis mundi, fundamental to the planes as they exist now but very much a newcomer in the grand scheme of things. "

Edited by bobbitwormhobbitwyrm on Jan 22nd 2023 at 8:55:49 PM

Kyra, curse you eldritch instincts

Her eldritch mind ended up reading Johann's thoughts. He clearly has dealt with eldritchs in the past, ones where were quite likely to NOT consider mortals. His approach is sensible, trying to figure out the rules and species that she is. He knows what he is doing, and she doubts a censor could fix such issues. The censor would probably explode. Violently. Or a filter for that matter. The filter would violently explode after some usage... how long she's not entirely sure, and the explosion might be quite literal to boot.

She skimmed over Erica's mind and noticed that something was off about her as well. It... is like that she is hiding her true inhumane nature from everyone else. So long as she does not cause trouble, she won't mention it. Erica too has interest in the supernatural like Johann does. No problems there!

She looks at Johann and a part of her WANTS to introduce the basic rules of how eldritchs from her world work but she knows full well this could result in a mortal screaming for brain bleach... at best. That part wanting to introduce the rules is quickly shut down.

Sign language: ... I'm pretty sure explaining the rules of how eldritchs work in my world would end up frying a mortal's brain and obliterate whatever sanity they have left. At best. Censors and filters would most likely go kaboom. Violently and probably literally (Not really sure, I'm pretty sure the data recordings also literally exploded as well when I tested it...). I'm... that strong. Now-

She pauses, trying to NOT fry the mortals' minds.

Sign language: Yea, trying to explain the rules I run on would destroy whatever sanity you have left... easily. At best. It's less rules more... don't learn the wrong info. And some of the wrong info is actually needed to understand the rules, so get the right ones...

Erica's mind is bland and unappealing, so she's not mortal enough to be tasty.

Johann's however... smells quite good... stupid instincts. No feeding on mortal minds! At least ones that don't need to be munched on for a good reason. His desire to learn more makes it all the more appealing...

Meeting Room

Into the room came striding a woman, one whose visage was as stern as it was obviously human. She stopped at the door, listening to the brief briefing by the miniature visage of her benefactor before stepping into the room proper and looking at her ostensible coworkers.

"I apologize for my lateness, I insisted on cooking my own breakfast."

She gestured briefly at the twin knives sheathed on the waist of her culinary robe as though that was explanation enough before she looked around again and wandered over to Kyra.

"Stone elemental?"

She looked the girl over, a frown forming.

"I hope you are not from where I am from."

Kyra - Meeting room

She heard a human female take a guess at her species. Close enough. The human appears to be a good cook at some level based on the knives and her words. Somehow the human has a reason to assume what she does...

So she signs away after looking at said human.

Sign language: I am NOT from your world. And that is a close enough approximation to my actual species... ish. But...

... Her stern visage is there for a reason. Did she have to put up a front of being scary to survive her world's threats? She seemed to assume that everyone could deduct what she ment with her direct wording.

The visible pause in her signing suggests that she is thinking. So she TRIES to whisper something...

   "And I'm a hybrid of two different species."   

The spoken words sound... WRONG. Like it did not belong in this world. Her own shadow briefly warped into an inhumane shape for a second before going back to normal, and only the observant would have noticed this.

Yet the intent and translation is quite clear. Though she set it (with sound magic, thank goodness for that!) so that it was more of a loud whisper intended for the human only. Any attempt to understand more would give mortals headaches which would be a giant red flag as well as giving away her species mix.

Edited by sci300768 on Jan 26th 2023 at 11:51:33 AM

Johann

He flashed Erica an excitable smile. "Oh, certainly fascinating, this house. I myself have only arrived recently and I already do not regret my decsison.", he said, looking around the room for emphasis. As he turned to Erica he tipped his non-existent hat. "I hope to eventually say the same for making your acquaintance, my lady."

Before he could continue, something in one of his pockets began to visibly and audibly vibrate. Johann raised an eyebrow and pulled out a small bronze-coated skull. It didn't look like that of a human, being small enough to fit into his palm, and its eye-cavities being way too big. Not to mention the tiny holes everywhere, making it look unsettlingly porous.

As he revealed it, it began to shudder and glowing steam poured out of a few openings. It's jaw popped off and it started rambling some barely coherent eldritch words. Before anybody could make out what it was saying, Johann calmly clapped his hands over it and muffled the sounds. He then pushed it back into his pockets, seemingly without a care.

"Apologies for that.", he said quickly. "Just a harmless little thing, really. No need to pay it any mind." His eyes rested on Kyra for a fraction of a second, short enough to make it seem like mere coincidence.

Then he adressed everyone. "Well, I for one am starting to get curious as to why we are all here. Obviously, the esteemed Head of Staff has something in store for us and I would love to know what he has in mind for this eclectic group of individuals, such as we are."

Erica suppressed a grin at Johann's excuses. It looked like he was no different from the other small-time occultists she had known, clinging desperately to tiny and absurd secrets. Looking into that skull might provide a lever for her, something she could use. At the very least, it would provide some idle entertainment.

Also on her mind was the matter of the chef. She did not look to be a woman of high culture, no accolades or honours here, but clearly she was quite talented. The house allowed for foolishness outside of ones vocation, but never within it. In demeanor she reminded Erica of a bandit chieftain she had traveled with, there was a coarseness to both of them, as if the world had slowly ground them down. In the case of the brigand, it had made breaking her spirit all the more enjoyable.

"I apologize, but I don't believe I got your name" she said, extending her hand "I'm Erica".

Meeting Room

The woman recoiled a little at the sudden hand signals she couldn't understand and then the words of the apparent hybrid golem.

"Ah. Definitely not where I'm from. Good."

Taking a moment to let the words fade she turned to Erica and tried for a weak smile while grabbing for the offered handshake.

"Sophia, I am a culinary specialist. Hence the... Nonstandard garb, more useful for my work than the usual regalia."

Meeting Room: Sacred Place Lambda

A loud gong like noise rang out throughout the meeting area as the form of the Butler appeared hanging over the groups, his size expanded to be easily seen from any point within the room. "The time for introductions has passed and it is now time for your daily duties. Today there are two important jobs that must be taken care of, thus it would be wise to split into two groups in order to accomplish them during your shift," with that said a large holographic screen appeared next to Butler.

"The Most Holy Dragon Emperor of Nine Heavens Who Rules Over Joy Everlasting has concluded their stay at the Infinite House, however due to their sheer divine nature the room they used is now a nexus of pure holy energy and has drawn in minor angels, spirits, and other such beings who can use the energy to rise up their ranks and force evolution into greater divine aspects. They must be removed and the room must then be polluted and cursed in order to bring down the purity level to livable conditions." the screen showed room fit for giants with multiple spirits and angels floating around, absorbing the ambient energy contained within.

"Second the Nightmare Gardens are dealing with in infestation of Joybud Flowers that must have blew in when the Ambassador of Dreams had his 'fun playtime hodown' as part of the yearly peace that is maintained between the reality of Dreams and the reality of Party Time. Joybuds feed off negative emotions and continue to spread, if not pruned we might lose the entire Nightmare Gardens, which means we will have to go back to the old method of harvesting child nightmares by hand." the second screen showed a odd sight, a piece of paradise filled with towering flowers and filled with cartoon animals and living toys, all surrounded by a dreary wasteland of bones and storms.

Erica repressed the urge to sigh. This was all pretty standard stuff for a servant of the house. When she was younger she would have been thrilled to go against a horde of minor angels, but she couldn't really sustain herself on such minute cruelties. This place was really starting to get to her.

"I'll volunteer to deal with the Angel situation" she said in a chipper voice "One of the entities I employ most often would be very well suited to the task."

Kyra

She thought about dealing with angels and- NOPE NOPE NOPE! She's already had her fill of dealing with angels! So many nopes went though her head. The nightmare gardens sound much more pleasant in comparison!

"I will deal with the Nightmare Gardens, I will be just fine there after all."

She is considering using lots of eldritch fire to kill off the joybuds. Which should not be a problem given that more nightmares really won't cause harm there.

"At least plants are easy to kill..."

Johann

The decision was a surprisingly easy one for Johann, in the end. While the idea of exploring a Garden of Nightmares and examining the interplay of dreams with the various worlds around them would have been fascinating...seeing the effects a "positive corruption" could have on such a place and how it would affect the mental ecosystem...ultimately, his skillset would see better use in clearing out the angels.

"I would also volunteer myself to handle our holy infestation.", he stated. He gave Kyra an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for not accompanying you. I'm sure we will have plenty more opportunities to work closer together and I myself am looking forward to it."

Incidentally, this would also allow him to work with Ms. Emerson, which was certainly something positive in his book. He was curious to see what entity she would be using for this one. While their introduction had been pleasant, so far it had not yielded much insight into everyone's abilities and inherent natures.

"Well then, Ms. Emerson. It looks like we are stuck with one another for the foreseeable future.", he said cheerfully and tipped his non-existent hat.

Meeting Room

"I will head to the garden as well. Angels are... Above my grade."

The woman gestured to her knives.

"I am more than capable of bringing in the harvest."