A Game of Worlds and Chaos

Ki sighed and shook their head. Apparently, what they were responding to wasn't clear. They opened their mouth, gesturing obviously to it.

Maybe the child wasn't very rich and didn't know these things worked. What was he doing here, then? And why had no one stopped him?

Pren looked at Ki. "Oh. So your mouth is fine... your vocal cords, maybe? Hmm." A glob of white sauce splattered on the wall next to Pren, and he startled and shook his head. "Sorry, we can worry about that later! So. Back to bribing the monster... where do you think we can get some cherry stems?"

Ki gestured to the table with food. There was a section dedicated to fruit, so it could have cherries.

The monster knocked over the food table with a stray glob of foodstuff, coating everything in a slightly off-yellow liquid.

Pren winced. "Yeah, I'm not touching any of that anymore..." He looked beyond the table. "Wait, is that a kitchen?" Pren pointed at a pair of swinging doors, then quickly lowered his arm before a tentacle could wrap around it.

Ki shrugged, then gestured for him to lead the way. They had never been a University's kitchen before.

Pren nodded. “Alright, follow me!” He hopped over a tentacle and scrambled towards the double doors. “Let’s get some cherry stems, bribe the monster, and get your voice back!” Pren couldn’t imagine losing his voice. It’d be an absolute nightmare! He resolved to help the four-armed stone person get their vocal cords un-glued as soon as possible.

Tempest Briar

And once again, the laundry list of weird things he had done grew. All but kidnapped by police officers made of metal? Check. Getting shoved into a metal box playing very violent sounds and slowly descending to the ground? Also, check.

He sighed, rolling out his shoulders as his bag only felt more restrictive.

Pel

Pel glanced nervously around the elevator. Two robotic guards were flanking him and Tempest Briar, and some form of... rock music? was blaring from hidden speakers. Pel winced and quietly asked, "How long will this elevator ride take? I'm afraid my ears are close to bleeding."

One guard tilted its head slightly and deadpanned, "Does classical music not agree with you?"

"This... this isn't classical music." Pel gulped. He didn't want to start an argument, but how could this noise compare to Beethoven's symphonies?

The guard made a sound that sounded awfully like a snort and assumed its rigid position once again.

Tempest Briar looked at both of the guards, hands still deep in her pockets. "Well, what lovely place are you taking us?"

The guards looked at each other and started laughing.

Tempest Briar frowned. "What?"

"These criminals have a sense of humor," one guard commented. Its partner snickered.

Pel took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. Well, even if the place couldn't be considered lovely, it wouldn't be that bad, right? Not as bad as Arelinor or Desdemona, certainly. Hopefully.

"Good luck down there. You'll need it." Guard #1 sneered.

Tempest Briar shrugged. "Some consider me a man of lucky."

"And what does everyone else consider you?"

She grinned. "A woman of luck. It's best to diversify."

The guards exchanged a Look Tempest Briar was all too familiar with.

If Guard #2 could raise an eyebrow, it probably would. And indeed, a little flap of metal above its eye seemed to lift slightly. "Is that so?" it asked.

Guard #1 snorted. "Doesn't matter. Man or woman, The Dirt will drag you down."

Pel shifted his feet worriedly. "You don't mean that literally, right?"

Both guards shrugged. "I guess you'll both find out soon enough, huh?"

Tempest Briar chuckled. "A touch of ominous foreshadowing. I appreciate your flair."

Both of them glared at him.

"Ominous. Yep, that's the word." Pel swallowed weakly and tried to lean back against the back wall of the elevator. Somehow, it didn't seem like his legs could support him for much longer. Unfortunately, however, he didn't have the chance to rest in that position for long.

With an abrupt screech, the elevator ground to a halt, and the doors creaked open.

The metal beast opened its jaw to the image of small town. The buildings were down, some even crumbling, and the people seemed thin and sickly.

Tempest Briar sighed. She could fit in here just fine.

The first guard pushed them out of the beast. “Welcome to The Dirt.”