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Ivan must be drunker than he thought he was. He could have sworn he knew his way around Vivienne's parents' house, since she wanted to introduce him last week and showed him the place, but maybe they have a... secret... upstairs... bar? where Vivienne's room is supposed to be? And most certainly was last time he checked? He's never going to find the sweater she sent him up looking for here, anyway. Why is there a secret upstairs bar in Vivienne's parents' house?
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isthisart
"The necessity of the use of which I can explain how? I think I'm using all my 'if you're rich you're not weird, you're eccentric' leeway merely on being Cetagandan, and it's not even sufficient to cover that some of the time."
thisvorlunatic
"True," sighs Miles. "Well, it was a thought."
"Could we just - hope the door shows up again somewhere more convenient?" asks Stalas. "Does that happen?"
"Could we just - hope the door shows up again somewhere more convenient?" asks Stalas. "Does that happen?"
middlingalong
"You couldn't buy the house in the next few days anyway, Vivienne's using it because her parents are on Komarr at a convention, something about ornithology."
isthisart
"The explanatory napkin says sometimes people get doors only once, sometimes routinely, for a few lucky individuals at will - the bar is unable to predict category membership."
thisvorlunatic
"What an extremely explanatory napkin," says Miles.
"So it could happen," says Stalas. "Given that - I think I'd rather just go home with you. Does my world stay paused, if I do?"
"So it could happen," says Stalas. "Given that - I think I'd rather just go home with you. Does my world stay paused, if I do?"
middlingalong
If you are in fact never going to return via Milliways, or if you will return contingent only on events that require time to pass in your world, then time will pass in your world, though it is unlikely to be at the same rate as any other specified world.
"Aren't you maybe going to die of rock deprivation or something though?"
"Aren't you maybe going to die of rock deprivation or something though?"
thisvorlunatic
"Possible death by rock deprivation," snorts Stalas, "has much to recommend it over certain death by darkspawn." To Linya, he explains, "I don't know what happens to a dwarf in the horrifying void between planets. Every dwarf who was ever born has lived their whole life no farther away from the ground than walking around on top of it, and not many of us even that far, and we have a connection to it that's hard to explain."
isthisart
"Humans all used to live within a very short distance of our original planet, too, but we've colonized unproblematically. Does anything in particular happen to dwarves who do go as far as the surface?"
thisvorlunatic
"They lose their Stone-sense. Well, and all of their social status, but that's a policy problem rather than anything mystical."
thisvorlunatic
"We know exactly where we are underground, and we can tell things about the rock around us - what kind it is, what pressure it's under, where the weak points are. It's not very ostentatious, but it's useful. Comforting. I'm kind of uneasy about being here, actually, because about all my Stone-sense can tell is that wherever I am, underground definitely isn't it. Although it is reasonably confident that there's ground under me."
isthisart
"What does the exterior of this building look like if exited via non-door methods?" Linya asks the bar.
If you go out the back, there is an outdoors, with a clear area, a lake, some forest, and some mountains, which is space-folded in on itself if you travel too far in any direction. The exploding stars are real, but people don't go out that way, and you are discouraged from trying to break the floor and will discover that it is impossible to locate a roof.
"Do you want to see how your Stone-sense does in the backyard here, then, to see if it's a world-specific thing or if it applies to arbitrary solid ground?"
If you go out the back, there is an outdoors, with a clear area, a lake, some forest, and some mountains, which is space-folded in on itself if you travel too far in any direction. The exploding stars are real, but people don't go out that way, and you are discouraged from trying to break the floor and will discover that it is impossible to locate a roof.
"Do you want to see how your Stone-sense does in the backyard here, then, to see if it's a world-specific thing or if it applies to arbitrary solid ground?"
thisvorlunatic
"Well - sure, I guess. But I've never been to the surface, so unless there are reachable cave systems under this backyard place...?"
isthisart
Alterations to the backyard can persist for considerable amounts of time, and someone may have dug caves into the mountains. I couldn't say. I've never been, says the bar.
"It's worth checking before we march you out of the Vorvilles' house and let the door close, I'd imagine."
"It's worth checking before we march you out of the Vorvilles' house and let the door close, I'd imagine."
thisvorlunatic
"Right, yeah, I just don't know how useful it's going to be to see if there's a difference between 'I feel weird because I'm in a crazy magic building' and 'I feel weird because I'm on some alien surface that might or might not be anything like the surface back home'," he says. "If I'd been to the surface of Thedas I'd have a reasonable point of comparison even if there aren't any caves out there. But you're right, it's still worth taking a look."
He looks around, somewhat uneasily, for a second door. (And finishes the last few bites of dessert.)
"...This surface business really has you rattled," says Miles.
"A bit," says Stalas.
He looks around, somewhat uneasily, for a second door. (And finishes the last few bites of dessert.)
"...This surface business really has you rattled," says Miles.
"A bit," says Stalas.
isthisart
"Most humans, especially pale ones, slowly burn if they're exposed to strong sunlight for long periods of time. I don't, but I have all kinds of advantages. There are substances that prevent it."
thisvorlunatic
"...Well that sounds exciting," says Stalas. "I haven't heard anything like that about surface dwarves, but maybe they're just embarrassed about their sky-burns."
isthisart
"They are cosmetically unfortunate. Bar, do you only have food and dishes and napkins...?"
I can sell nonliving, nonmagical, medium-sized, harmless things like sunscreen.
"That is an interesting list of parameters."
I cannot sell you a kitten, enchanted necklace, continent, or plasma arc, even if you can afford their reasonable currency-dependent prices.
"Understood."
I can sell nonliving, nonmagical, medium-sized, harmless things like sunscreen.
"That is an interesting list of parameters."
I cannot sell you a kitten, enchanted necklace, continent, or plasma arc, even if you can afford their reasonable currency-dependent prices.
"Understood."
thisvorlunatic
"It'd be hard to fit a continent in here, anyway," says Miles.
"Right, so first I think I want to get a bath and clean my armour," says Stalas. "Don't forget the towels."
"Right, so first I think I want to get a bath and clean my armour," says Stalas. "Don't forget the towels."
isthisart
A key appears. Room 447, says the accompanying napkin. There will be towels in the bathroom.
thisvorlunatic
"Thanks," says Stalas, grinning. He scoops up the key and looks around. "And where do I find Room 447...?"