Scene 1 - And the gunslingers followed...

There is a pause after Henry asks his question.

After five seconds or so the voice of Baby D returns

"You make a good point there, person-with-no-name."

"And I am concerned that my mind, usually so accurate and powerful, failed to notice this logical error. Perhaps a glitch due to the moving on of these worlds, or to the long time that has elapsed since I was last investigated for errors by a being other than myself."

"Perhaps it may not seem so impressive to you, but I am now more inclined to allow you through the door, given that you have demonstrated you can think through this situation more clearly than I can.

"Instead of drawing your guns and play-acting firing them, you could show me instead some feat of skill, of dexterity, with a blade?"

"Alternatively, I could release the two undead locked into the morgue cabinets here, and the two people-without-a-name could demonstrate to me their ability to dispatch them silently? I would be able to neutralise both of them in an instant if they proved to be too much for you to deal with."

There is another pause.

And then Baby D speaks up again in her quiet voice.

"Hey, Henry Spatchcock of New Canaan. That was tight!"

"Rarely have I seen someone with such rare skill."

"At first you had my curiosity. But now you have my attention!"

"If one of you others - Rose, Oscar, person-with-no-name - can show me that kind of lethal competence, I would be prepared to let you through the door."

"Out of curiosity, if I may ask - is your aim to follow that fellow Jack who came through here not so long ago? I had some interesting conversations with him."

"Jack didn't ask me to keep our conversations private, so I'm happy to share what we talked about."

"He told me some wild stories of moons and stars and monkeys and heaven and magic and gods and devils and fire and water and mountains and blades of grass or maybe just one blade of grass... er... now I try and describe that conversation to you, it feels very confused in my mind. Which is unusual. Hm. Unprecedented, even. Captivating, though. I remember that. He quite enraptured me. Which. Again. Hm. Unprecedented. Now I think about it."

"He told me where he was going. He travels to the Tower. He has some great purpose to fulfil there, or so he told me. And yet as he talked about this great purpose he laughed. Tittered. And that laugher felt like un-life. Very strange."

"He talked about people who may follow him. I think that might be you all. He told me that he both wants you to succeed and join him. And for you get tripped up and fail and for it be hilarious. He laughed that laugh again as he said that. He giggled."

Baby D pauses here.

"That giggle. Sent a shiver down my spine. And I don't have a spine..."

"He told me how he is leaving traps and puzzles and badness and mayhem behind him. That if those who follow him can push back, maybe destroy, his agents of chaos, that will make their path forward easier. But if they fail to vanquish them, or make things safe - then their path will become harder."

"He told me he was heading to the bottom of the sanatorium. That he will leave it by the trains that run from there underground."

"And then he showed me such magic! He could disappear! With a cluck of his cheek he vanished before me! Made not a sound! He could talk to me, I could hear him then. But otherwise. Nothing! Nada!"

"And then he put his mind into one of those undead behind you in this room, and he controlled it so that it was able to open the door and emerge and then pull itself back again and lock itself back in there."

"A mighty sorcerer. No doubt. I used to think magic was all illusion and smoke - like that of my brother's name-sake. But now I know more. Now I know different."

"And then I let him through. I had no doubt he could deal with the dangers on the other side of this door."

"Oh. Oscar. I see you too carry magical power in you. I don't see how the ability to make smoke come out of your ears will help you against the dangers here. Although maybe if you do it long enough you can make it harder for others to see you?"

"But the burning of the boxes and the vegetables - and I assume also undead - that is clearly useful to overcome them. And, er, to cook vegetables for dinner too, I suppose."

"I think you've convinced me. Now you've reminded me of what I talked about with Jack I see it may be ka that blew you here, like a wind. And that I should not stand in your way. Even with what you've shown me – if you really mean to follow Jack – then I can't lie to you about your chances but... you have my sympathies."

"Hey person-without-a-name. If there's need for sass in what you'll meet on the other side of that door, I see that you've got this group covered for that."

"A final warning – it is likely pitch black on the other side of this door, so be ready to deal with that. And a final reminder – I expect the main challenges you'll face out there are going to be the undead, and my big brother Davy B. The longer you can get by without rousing either of them, the better."

"Been good talking with you all. I wish you all success, all luck, and long days and pleasant nights."

And with that, you can hear something in the door click, and it swings open to a metallically-walled corridor, lit only by the light coming out of the room you are currently standing in. Walls and ceiling appear to be made out of a combination of polished shiny metal, and panels of duller matt metal. The floor looks, from here, to be linoleum.

On the wall opposite the door you just opened, there is a sign. It indicates with an arrow to the left:
Emergency Department
Technomedicine
Cardiovascular Clinic

And to the right:
Administration
Shops
Haemotology
Above these signs, another sign indicates
Sanatorium Sub-Level 3

Continued in the thread Scene 2 - Seizure Day