Skyscrapers & ... Groundscrapers? (RP)

Arthur touches Fiona's elbow with gentle urgency. " Let's move away from the unkillable croc," he says, and starts to retreat in a different direction than where we came in.

As he does, he sucks on an oddly delicious "any flavored" crumb of fungus that somehow wound up in his mouth.

- Arthur -

The fungus is good! So more must be better! You can feel your mind expanding, though you don't know exactly how, but you are sure you can perceive truth that others don't have access to.

- Fiona and Arthur -

You back away, from the, probably angry, salamander and follow cave system onwards. Up ahead you see a light, it seems more constant and familiar than the shimmering fungal lights, and as you approach it you see blue sky up above. You have looped round and found you way back to the skyscraper, on a higher floor.

Stepping out the caves seems to have had more of an effect than 'just moving from one room to another', you don't perceive a portal or barrier here, but suddenly your radios and phones are receiving again and you hear the worried voice of your intern, Sid, on the radio.

"Oh!" They say when you reply. "I was getting worried something may have happened to you! HQ have called in reinforcements..." They hesitate a moment before continuing, in a chipper tone that suggest the higher-ups are listening in on the conversation. "Um, can you get back to the lobby? Herman... Herman Niederfelt, you remember? Herman is about to come in."

• How do you feel about Herman joining your expedition? Do you still blame him for last time?

What do you do?

Herman finally arrived after 20 minutes on the subway and a 10 block jog. He hops in the van and throws on his "**** Institute" (tm) overalls. He’s wearing his "magicadabra" (tm) baseball hat backwards to cover his early pattern baldness (and on top of that a hard plastic helmet) also some 10.14 bitchen-looking sunglasses. He checks in on the walkie talkie. "Ais’a comin’ yall!!! The subway wasn’t too bad. I all geared up and I assume we need C4. Anything else special you need me to bring? Rope, crowbar, twinkies? Is there a trail for me to follow?"

... and of course Herman's reaction to the building is, (long whistle) "Dude woooah!"

- Fiona -

Like the floors below you, this one is devoid of people or any signs of people having been here when a disaster happened. There are computers and desks pilled up on the lower side and dangling from the stairwell/lifts in the center, and someone's lunch has spilled open, revealing processed foods and chips, but there is no indication that anyone was hurt during the fall.

You have to climb through this detritus of office-space cutter to get out of the cave. Through the 'bottom' windows you see nothing but darkness... no that isn't true. Around where you exited the cave you can see some cave shapes through the window. It feels a bit freaky to be standing on glass, over a cave, especially since more than a few windows panes around you have broken, spilling desks into the soil below, but also allowing egress from the caves.

You have to climb almost halfway up the 'side' of the building before you emerge from the surrounding darkness and can see the street below and Herman by the van. As soon as you ascend above that line, you look down upon the street, no soil or caves in sight outside.

You are higher up than you thought, what with the mezzanine and all, you have ascended another floor through the cave system.

• Are you going down to get Herman? Or do you expect him to find his own way to climb up to your spot while you rest?

What do you do?

- Herman -

It is one thing to hear the reports, but seeing the skyscraper stretching upwards multiple city blocks, but at a 45° angle, and just hanging there, is a jaw-dropping experience. Not so jaw-dropping that the kids playing around the base have not become bored with their game of throwing stones and are poking at the shimmering portal with a long piece of rebar.

There is a puddle of water around the base, though it looks like it has been receding and you maybe be able to get over to the portal without getting your feet wet... if you are lucky.

What do you do?

Arthur shifts his backpack around. "Yeah, I have climbing gear in here. Just a moment, gotta get it out without spilling." He rummages briefly, pulls out a rope and grapnel. "Let's see what we can tie this to …" and he looks around for a sturdy part of the buildings structure, or an object substantially heavier than Herman and below the window opening.

- Herman -

(responding to OOC Montage [ref])

The reporter —autograph in hand— blows you kiss as you descend from the news helicopter into the broken-open window on the top surface of the leaning skyscraper.

You can see your friends and companions (or 'work associates') below, clearing and rigging a landing zone for you. They look a little puzzled by something when you drop the rope in, but communications are impossible in the wash of the helicopter's rotors and you can't hang around.

As you descend, a moment before you reach the building and the broken window, you remember that there is a very distinct and purposeful PORTAL at the base of the tower. This serves as the transition from one reality to another, and you have not passed through that 'portal'... some Arcane sense warns you about the 'invisible' barrier and you have a split-second to remedy the situation and avoid a long slide down the outside to the mangled base of the tower.

It is a magical barrier, and a magical portal, and you are a magic man! You can ... probably?... make your own entry to the magic realm... right? You can do magic! ... sometimes?

• Do you try to magic your way in? If so: What energies do you channel though your mind and body to try end up on the same ... 'wavelength' as Arthur and Fiona? What is that like?

What do you do?

I frantically signal the helicopter to abort by looking at the reporter and giving him the thumbs down and yelling "ABORT, ABORT" as loud as I can whatever good that will do. That and I drop the crowbar and the hammer cos that will hopefully make it obvious I am not getting in the building this way.
After the copter lands me and I am away from the propeller wash I am on the radio, "Change of plans. I can't get in that way, there seems to be some other barrier surrounding the building. Seems like the only way in is the front door the way you guys got in. So I guess you better not wait for me."

- Arthur and Fiona -

You see the rope snake out from helicopter as Herman starts his flashy entrance, it is perfectly lined up to drop right through the hole left by the missing window, and you stand aside so as to be close enough to provide aid but not so close you get whipped by it ...

... Except that the rope does not reach you. It was definitely long enough that it should have, but, with a slight sizzle, it just seems to vanish at the height of the window, not pooling up there or sliding off, just ... not existing on this side.

Herman looks down and seems satisfied with what he sees! As though he thinks the rope is safely on the 'ground' where you are. He starts his descent before you can issue a warning. Fortunately something tips him off to the danger and he stops himself in time, signalling to the chopper to pull up. As the chopper lifts away you see rope 'appearing' at the bottom end where it meets the window.

Herman radios in and you arrange to meet downstairs, by the portal.

What do you do?

- Herman -

"You still owe me." The reporter calls with a barely hidden smirk when you are on the ground again.

The portal at the base of the tower seems to be the only way in, and presumably the only way out of the break. If narrative causality has anything to say about it, the nexus of power will be at the top, as far away from the exit as possible, just 'to make for a better show', you are pretty sure this is the case even before you step inside and see how mundane the ground floor is.

As you would expect in a building that has been tipped by 45°, everything has slid down to your side of the tile floor, the reception/security desk rests by your elbow as you stand in the V at the bottom.

You have a minute or so before your two companions reach your position.

What do you do?

Does this building have a central atrium all the way up? or is there only the two/three story lobby mezzanine? Cos the beanstalk idea worked great for Jack (and Bugs/Porky) Could it work here? [Is what my thought bubble says]

- Herman -

Only the lobby has a mezzanine floor around it that you can see. Above that is the ceiling (which is the floor of the 'second' story). There is no way to get from the mezzanine to the higher floors.

A central stairwell and elevator shaft links the ground floor to the one above.

What do you do?

Actually where (what floor) is the elevator? How high could I get up the elevator shaft with my hypothetical beanstalk? I assume the door is open or I can crowbar it (since I picked back up the one I dropped earlier.)

Cause if the elevator is at least 5 or 6 floors up I am gonna arcane me a beanstalk.

Herman pries open the elevator door on the first floor and peeks in with the flashlight. Apparently he approves of what he saw. He steps back, closes his eyes and concentrates. He squats and then slowly stands and also pushes up as if doing a deadlift in slow motion and then squats again to repeat the motion, he does this whole bit three more times.