[ and through the door they go, ludger’s finger being taken from him as soon as he takes his first step into the new room and the queen—no, king’s—with them. if the belief that taking the finger would mean that it would be clean and without blood, then, well…sorry about that. it will not bleed profusely as though it had just cut off, but will seem like a wound that had been cauterized just enough so that there would be no blood immediately pooling at ludger’s feet. though, suppose this will be a good indicator for what’s to come when other body parts (or organs) are offered as payment.
while there’s nasty business with losing a body part, gaining a new personality is something that childremass will now have to deal with. for not only will he have the childremass that we’ve all come to know, there will be the constant paranoid whispers of a king who seeks to protect his kingdom regardless of whatever those means end up being. or, specifically, the knowledge that one victor frankenstein can offer to him to accomplish this. maybe it’s because of this that the place that they step into is a place that has made its appearance within the [ setting ] but not a place either of them have physically visited personally. probably not, but here they are.
victor frankenstein's lab. or more specifically, the lab of the head alchemist of the imperial court which sounds just as fancy as it will appear. unlike the lab in the [ setting ], this lab will have no limits in its wonders; while it still lacks the invention of more 21st century modernization, the shelves will be flushed with all sorts of different compounds, creations, esters, mixtures, drugs, and so, so, so much more. disembodied voices will be chattering around them even though there will be no physical bodies for them to see, but all of them speak of a breakthrough dr. frankenstein is on the cusp of making. ]
[ Childermass goes through the door and into the lab. He stumbles, forced to catch himself on Ludger by grabbing at the other man's shoulder as they step through. He is still himself... but not alone. Seeing the lab at all, hearing the name Frankenstein, sets the king off immediately.
He needs to find the doctor, he needs to, only he has the power to save the kingdom, where is he, where is?! Find him!
The whispers feel more like shouting to him for the moment before he pushes them back, but he is left looking unsteady and pale. ]
[ a sharp hiss escapes from between Ludger's teeth as a white hot pain lances through his left hand. he glances down - non-dominant, that's good - to find his index finger missing. there's no blood spurting from it - that's good. objectively, that's good.
but it feels like there should be. and the mismatch in his head feels awful. ]
... Great. Okay. Childermass, how are you feeling?
[ is he going to have to say "your majesty" again ]
[ But no demand to be called anything other than Childermass is forthcoming. He'll let go of Ludger's shoulder and stand on his own, even if he's a little weak in the knees from the shock. The whispers are still there, demanding to be heard, but he fights them off... for now.
Even so, he puts a hand to his head, closing his eyes briefly. Reorient, focus, breathe. ]
...so he did come along. It is more like I am carrying a passenger, though.
[ an extra personality along for the ride... hm. ]
Let me know if you think it's getting worse? I think this- [ he waves his disfigured hand ] -will hold steady. It just hurts like hell.
[ but with that, uh. settled. more or less. Ludger will look around the room. are there any notes to see? of course there are, this is a nerd sanctuary. but anything that might seem like Fran's work. ]
all of it will be fran's work. rather, all of it will be in fran's handwriting and while there will be works that he's referencing from something else, nearly every inch of what is around has fran's touch to it all. the king in childremass's head might find a particular piece of fran's work immensely interesting—the notes that he has around the creation of the philosopher's stone and the many trials that he has done to create it. nearly all of them have noted as being a failure as a fundamental whole (with some as a success on other levels with other achievements that they are linked to creating as a byproduct). of the long, detailed list of the trials and the failures, the king will search for a word something that starts with the letter "z" but will not be currently anywhere in fran's available notes.
though, depending on how obvious childremass is about the new side of him, the disembodied voices may start to sound more worried and less interested in the work that surrounds them. ]
[ Childermass begins looking over the notes as well... and the very moment he lays eyes on the mention of the philosopher's stone, his first thought is he should tell Ludger what that is. It's certainly not a mystery to him after spending so much time in Mr. Norrell's library, after all. However, that never happens, because--
He's suddenly not in control anymore. He feels himself turning back to the notes sharply and immediately pulling them all close, eyes scanning wildly for a word, what word, what certain word, what is it?
The whispers are a roar now, not whispers at all, and he cannot hold them back. He has to know, he has to know, why are these all failures? Where is the word he wants? Where is it?! It is, unfortunately, very obvious that Childermass isn't at the wheel. That is a man of calm stoicism, while this is... frantic motions, throwing notes away that do not suit his purpose, muttering to himself, where is it, why isn't it here, it must be... ]
[ Ludger is no man of mystical knowledge - he's just a guy with debt. he tries to read the notes in front of him, and while they're neat enough, there's too many references to things he doesn't understand. frowning, he's about to ask Childermass a question- ]
Hey-!
[ -when the pages in before him get yanked away. Ludger looks up, about to protest and- oh. well. ]
... Childermass. Childermass, come on, focus.
[ he'll grab the man by a shoulder, trying to reach someone buried beneath the weight of a shadow carried with them. ]
[ And Childermass will jerk away from the hand, turning to bat it away and snarl at Ludger. ]
Keep your hands off of me.
[ Oh boy, yeah, it's the king. There he is. He won't attack Ludger, though. He'll only turn back to the notes. ]
We need to find... [ What? What is this "z" word? ] He's done something. Made something. Something that came of his philosopher's stone experiments. We must have it, Kresnik. For the sake of all Britain.
[ his hand throbs, the force of Childermass's - sorry, His Majesty's - swat reigniting the pain. Ludger exhales very, very slowly, controlled. well, so much for that warning. ]
... Yes, Your Majesty.
[ Ludger pulls a separate stack towards him, faking perusal, as he instead turns his ears to the whispers. what do the subjects fear now? ]
[ well, clearly the whispers are petrified about the appearance of the king (queen?) that has seemingly, in their non-eyes, stormed the lab and has started to tear through the notes—fran's notes. if only the doctor was here himself! but victor frankenstein isn't here. depending on how much longer this goes on, the lab itself may start to shake violently.
though should childremass continue to lose the rolls against the king, then he'll start to "remember" more of the word. "zic..." but, again, nothing appears with that name in the notes that he's scrambling through. ]
[ This is bad. Whatever voices are around them, they are noticing Childermass' hitchhiker, and so he does make an effort to try and wrangle the king -- or is it queen? It's... difficult, but he makes some headway, however small. The movements become less frantic. He forces this other entity to stop throwing things about, making a mess. ]
...just... a moment longer... [ The urge to wrest control back wars with the desire to know what this word is. ] ...he's recalling something, but...?
[ Whispered words for Ludger, though with the same manic energy as the king. He isn't finding it. He isn't finding it! Where is it?! ]
[ well, it's not like he can throw Childermass again. he is the zone of influence, It Is Him. ]
... We'll have to move on eventually.
[ the papers are a bust for Ludger. he'll instead start poking through the shelves of the lab. anything interesting squirreled away in there? like maybe a first aid kit? with a strong painkiller? ]
[ we're stealing from fran's fancier lab now, are we? that's fine. it actually might be for the best? because if ludger is really gunning for checking the shelves for things that are squirreled away then he'll find himself with three test tubes filled with three distinctly different colored liquids: blue, pink, and green. each of them clearly meant to do something.
whether or not the disembodied voices will approve of ludger taking them with him will be left unsaid since it really depends on the state of the king. who childremass will get the next few letters of the king's obsession: "zicter"... ]
[ The whispers are slowly beginning to recede, but it is still very slowly, and Childermass can only struggle to keep the king from becoming frantic again. He's still digging through notes, moving on to check other parts of the lab with notes, searching, searching, searching...
Zicter—? Zicter what...? He's so close to knowing, and it's tempting to let the king go wild again just to find out. ]
he just. inhales deeply through his nose. and exhales out his mouth. a few times. this is fine. it's not worth it. besides, Childermass will be much more upset about this later than Ludger will be. he will be the calm, reasonable one between the two of them here. ]
... Very well, Sire.
[ he's going to work on packing up those test tubes to take with them. corks, parafilm, test tube rack, a box for the rack, the works. once that's done, he will continue to search the benches and the shelves for anything that might be important. as he does so, he'll also keep an ear on the whispers - what's the king's confidence index at? ]
the word that the king will be looking for is "zicterium" and as childremass digs through the notes, he'll come to realize that it's that substance is what the voices had been so excited about. victor's breakthrough. they might not know it yet, but the voices believe it to be a positive sign for what there's to come. it would undoubtedly become the next step towards creating the philosopher's stone and the elixir for eternal youth. the key that will ensure that great britian will never fall to at the hands of anyone else.
as for ludger and his sticky fingers, the voices won't be so concerned with how he's clearly taking fran's things with him. (at least he's packing it correctly.) and he'll be able to catch the way that they are still anxious about the king's presence, but are less fearful seeing that he has started to calm down. perhaps, they all have gotten what they're looking for here. the benches won't provide new knowledge but on the shelf will be a book mentioning a modern day prometheus. ]
[ There it is. Zicterium. Victor's breakthrough... But he's finally stemmed the tide of whispers, the king receding and leaving Childermass back in control. He lets out a breath, a sigh of relief. A little dizzy, but that's better; he can make his own decisions now.
He'll step back from the notes, not sure if there'll be anything else to glean from these, and look back towards Ludger. He's packing... something? He sees. ]
...is there anything else we should look at? If not, it may be wise to leave before the king returns.
[ Ludger had been about to flip through the book, but at Childermass's apparent return to reason, he'll tuck it away for later perusal. ]
I found some chemicals that looked important, though I'm not sure what they're for. I guess we could take a minute to see if they're in any of the notes, but...
[ he eyes the other man. will the king return so soon? ]
... You could start looking for the next door? Hopefully the king will still be more interested in finding Fran, especially since it seems like he's not here. Wasn't here.
[ That's right. They'll need the next to move on, and so he looks off and away from Ludger, around the lab. ]
Mm, yes. I can do that. His whispers are much quieter for the moment, so let's take advantage of that. Could you try and see if you can find those in the notes?
[ He'll look back, nodding to the box of chemicals Ludger's packed away. ]
I have no problem with taking them along, but I would be concerned about what they do should any get spilled or dropped.
[ Or Ludger can do whatever else. It's a suggestion. In any case, Childermass will start looking for the next door. ]
does not trust High Lorde Childermass with plebeian tasks like carrying boxes.
but with the plan set, Ludger will take another look through the notes. any info on these pink, blue, and green substances? anything that the Grand Poobah might have skipped due to lack of relation to the philosopher's stone or whatever? ]
[ it's a good thing to capitalize on looking for the door while childremass is himself and not possessed by the king who clearly found what he was looking for. ...for better or for worse, i suppose with that. the door will be the opposite end of the room from where they are. it's not too far away so he can see that the plaque will read 9XX. obviously, this door will want something before they're able to escape, too.
while there isn't any note related to the stone itself, there will be notes detailing what the liquids in the test tube would do:
blue fluid - will color the person’s tongue blue if they’re lying.
pink fluid - increased strength proportional to their body type.
green fluid - will allow someone to survive a fatal injury. injury will still sustained and will need urgent care quickly after.
now imagine if he had left without looking for the notes, huh? ]
[ Door 9XX? That's different. Childermass will do a quick flip of the door plaque if possible, to see if there is anything else behind it, same as Ludger did before, but otherwise? ]
It's over here. [ He'll call back, still quite himself, thankfully. ] I am ready to go when you are. This one wants something, too...
[ stuffing the relevant pages into the book, Ludger will do a quick check of the floors and ceiling and another look at the beakers to make sure there's no black or iridescent goo before joining Childermass. ]
Of course it does. Think it's the same as the last one?
[ I LEAVE AND SEE AN EDIT SAYING NONE TRUST!? but there's no way to flip the plaque over to see the other side of it since it'll be attached to the door, and nope. there's nothing else for you in terms of floors, ceilings, or goo.
just another door with a requirement that needs to be fulfilled before they can leave. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
DOOR 998
while there’s nasty business with losing a body part, gaining a new personality is something that childremass will now have to deal with. for not only will he have the childremass that we’ve all come to know, there will be the constant paranoid whispers of a king who seeks to protect his kingdom regardless of whatever those means end up being. or, specifically, the knowledge that one victor frankenstein can offer to him to accomplish this. maybe it’s because of this that the place that they step into is a place that has made its appearance within the [ setting ] but not a place either of them have physically visited personally. probably not, but here they are.
victor frankenstein's lab. or more specifically, the lab of the head alchemist of the imperial court which sounds just as fancy as it will appear. unlike the lab in the [ setting ], this lab will have no limits in its wonders; while it still lacks the invention of more 21st century modernization, the shelves will be flushed with all sorts of different compounds, creations, esters, mixtures, drugs, and so, so, so much more. disembodied voices will be chattering around them even though there will be no physical bodies for them to see, but all of them speak of a breakthrough dr. frankenstein is on the cusp of making. ]
no subject
He needs to find the doctor, he needs to, only he has the power to save the kingdom, where is he, where is?! Find him!
The whispers feel more like shouting to him for the moment before he pushes them back, but he is left looking unsteady and pale. ]
no subject
but it feels like there should be. and the mismatch in his head feels awful. ]
... Great. Okay. Childermass, how are you feeling?
[ is he going to have to say "your majesty" again ]
no subject
[ But no demand to be called anything other than Childermass is forthcoming. He'll let go of Ludger's shoulder and stand on his own, even if he's a little weak in the knees from the shock. The whispers are still there, demanding to be heard, but he fights them off... for now.
Even so, he puts a hand to his head, closing his eyes briefly. Reorient, focus, breathe. ]
...so he did come along. It is more like I am carrying a passenger, though.
no subject
Let me know if you think it's getting worse? I think this- [ he waves his disfigured hand ] -will hold steady. It just hurts like hell.
[ but with that, uh. settled. more or less. Ludger will look around the room. are there any notes to see? of course there are, this is a nerd sanctuary. but anything that might seem like Fran's work. ]
no subject
all of it will be fran's work. rather, all of it will be in fran's handwriting and while there will be works that he's referencing from something else, nearly every inch of what is around has fran's touch to it all. the king in childremass's head might find a particular piece of fran's work immensely interesting—the notes that he has around the creation of the philosopher's stone and the many trials that he has done to create it. nearly all of them have noted as being a failure as a fundamental whole (with some as a success on other levels with other achievements that they are linked to creating as a byproduct). of the long, detailed list of the trials and the failures, the king will search for a word something that starts with the letter "z" but will not be currently anywhere in fran's available notes.
though, depending on how obvious childremass is about the new side of him, the disembodied voices may start to sound more worried and less interested in the work that surrounds them. ]
no subject
He's suddenly not in control anymore. He feels himself turning back to the notes sharply and immediately pulling them all close, eyes scanning wildly for a word, what word, what certain word, what is it?
The whispers are a roar now, not whispers at all, and he cannot hold them back. He has to know, he has to know, why are these all failures? Where is the word he wants? Where is it?! It is, unfortunately, very obvious that Childermass isn't at the wheel. That is a man of calm stoicism, while this is... frantic motions, throwing notes away that do not suit his purpose, muttering to himself, where is it, why isn't it here, it must be... ]
no subject
Hey-!
[ -when the pages in before him get yanked away. Ludger looks up, about to protest and- oh. well. ]
... Childermass. Childermass, come on, focus.
[ he'll grab the man by a shoulder, trying to reach someone buried beneath the weight of a shadow carried with them. ]
no subject
Keep your hands off of me.
[ Oh boy, yeah, it's the king. There he is. He won't attack Ludger, though. He'll only turn back to the notes. ]
We need to find... [ What? What is this "z" word? ] He's done something. Made something. Something that came of his philosopher's stone experiments. We must have it, Kresnik. For the sake of all Britain.
no subject
... Yes, Your Majesty.
[ Ludger pulls a separate stack towards him, faking perusal, as he instead turns his ears to the whispers. what do the subjects fear now? ]
no subject
though should childremass continue to lose the rolls against the king, then he'll start to "remember" more of the word. "zic..." but, again, nothing appears with that name in the notes that he's scrambling through. ]
no subject
...just... a moment longer... [ The urge to wrest control back wars with the desire to know what this word is. ] ...he's recalling something, but...?
[ Whispered words for Ludger, though with the same manic energy as the king. He isn't finding it. He isn't finding it! Where is it?! ]
no subject
... We'll have to move on eventually.
[ the papers are a bust for Ludger. he'll instead start poking through the shelves of the lab. anything interesting squirreled away in there? like maybe a first aid kit? with a strong painkiller? ]
no subject
whether or not the disembodied voices will approve of ludger taking them with him will be left unsaid since it really depends on the state of the king. who childremass will get the next few letters of the king's obsession: "zicter"... ]
no subject
[ The whispers are slowly beginning to recede, but it is still very slowly, and Childermass can only struggle to keep the king from becoming frantic again. He's still digging through notes, moving on to check other parts of the lab with notes, searching, searching, searching...
Zicter—? Zicter what...? He's so close to knowing, and it's tempting to let the king go wild again just to find out. ]
no subject
he just. inhales deeply through his nose. and exhales out his mouth. a few times. this is fine. it's not worth it. besides, Childermass will be much more upset about this later than Ludger will be. he will be the calm, reasonable one between the two of them here. ]
... Very well, Sire.
[ he's going to work on packing up those test tubes to take with them. corks, parafilm, test tube rack, a box for the rack, the works. once that's done, he will continue to search the benches and the shelves for anything that might be important. as he does so, he'll also keep an ear on the whispers - what's the king's confidence index at? ]
no subject
the word that the king will be looking for is "zicterium" and as childremass digs through the notes, he'll come to realize that it's that substance is what the voices had been so excited about. victor's breakthrough. they might not know it yet, but the voices believe it to be a positive sign for what there's to come. it would undoubtedly become the next step towards creating the philosopher's stone and the elixir for eternal youth. the key that will ensure that great britian will never fall to at the hands of anyone else.
as for ludger and his sticky fingers, the voices won't be so concerned with how he's clearly taking fran's things with him. (at least he's packing it correctly.) and he'll be able to catch the way that they are still anxious about the king's presence, but are less fearful seeing that he has started to calm down. perhaps, they all have gotten what they're looking for here. the benches won't provide new knowledge but on the shelf will be a book mentioning a modern day prometheus. ]
no subject
He'll step back from the notes, not sure if there'll be anything else to glean from these, and look back towards Ludger. He's packing... something? He sees. ]
...is there anything else we should look at? If not, it may be wise to leave before the king returns.
no subject
I found some chemicals that looked important, though I'm not sure what they're for. I guess we could take a minute to see if they're in any of the notes, but...
[ he eyes the other man. will the king return so soon? ]
... You could start looking for the next door? Hopefully the king will still be more interested in finding Fran, especially since it seems like he's not here. Wasn't here.
[ whatever. ]
no subject
[ That's right. They'll need the next to move on, and so he looks off and away from Ludger, around the lab. ]
Mm, yes. I can do that. His whispers are much quieter for the moment, so let's take advantage of that. Could you try and see if you can find those in the notes?
[ He'll look back, nodding to the box of chemicals Ludger's packed away. ]
I have no problem with taking them along, but I would be concerned about what they do should any get spilled or dropped.
[ Or Ludger can do whatever else. It's a suggestion. In any case, Childermass will start looking for the next door. ]
no subject
[ he
does not trust High Lorde Childermass with plebeian tasks like carrying boxes.
but with the plan set, Ludger will take another look through the notes. any info on these pink, blue, and green substances? anything that the Grand Poobah might have skipped due to lack of relation to the philosopher's stone or whatever? ]
no subject
while there isn't any note related to the stone itself, there will be notes detailing what the liquids in the test tube would do:
now imagine if he had left without looking for the notes, huh? ]
no subject
It's over here. [ He'll call back, still quite himself, thankfully. ] I am ready to go when you are. This one wants something, too...
no subject
Of course it does. Think it's the same as the last one?
no subject
just another door with a requirement that needs to be fulfilled before they can leave. ]
trav none trusts naru i cannot believe
loads knife, I said what I said
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