There's a door at the juncture of the building, to the south of Room 10 and to the west of Room 16; it blends well with the wall, and it's difficult to notice unless you're staring directly at it. Either way, however, it's just appeared to be dead space – after all, were it something vitally important, surely it would have been unlocked before now, wouldn't it? The Wordsmith has promised to provide for you all.
That door is open now.
It's hard to say when it opened; it simply...seems to have, without anyone visible unlocking it. But the fact of the matter is that it's open, and the room beyond seems to be a holding area – somewhere to wait while the elevator beyond the threshold arrives.
Its doors opened without it being called; it seems it was sent from elsewhere, given that there are no call buttons anywhere to be seen. The doors slide open, revealing enough space for all of you; it won't be terribly comfortable, but it'll be safe – the ride itself is fast and smooth, without any alarming shaking or noise that implies you should probably be concerned about the contraption.
It's noticeable, though, that the elevator is bringing you upward.
The door opens into what seems to have been, appropriately enough for a university, a grand lecture hall – it's all polished wood and no windows, with several rows and aisles of seats to be occupied by students set behind long tables for note-taking and doing assignments. Each individual area is outfitted with vaguely outdated-looking lamps designed to make it a little easier to see exactly what one is writing. The front of the room, though, has been cleared out and remodeled, in a big way, and that's where the aisles lead you, clearly where you're supposed to go - in the center of the room is a circle of podiums, thirty in total, arranged so that everyone standing at them can see each other. So everyone can look each other in the eyes, if they so choose. The podiums are interlocked - there's no cutting across the center of the circle, and for good reason, it looks like there's a lot of nothing down there where the floor should be - and each is bearing the title of the person who's assigned to stand at it. No names, just adjectives, emblazoned across two brass panels on the very top and the front of each podium.
(They're all the same height, but the smaller among you will find that there are a couple of steps behind your podium, leading up to a raised platform for you to stand on so you can see over it. It's a little more dignified, at least, than needing someone to fetch a box.)
All of the podiums are identical, outside of the abovementioned physical accommodations, except for the one intended for Adelina. The podium that should bear Securing's title has had a black cloth draped over it, and a copy of Adelina's profile photo is sitting on top of it, framed and colorless, an image in greyscale.
To the north of the podium circle, behind where everyone is standing, is the lectern – a tall podium raised several feet off the ground, presumably where the professor delivering the lessons for the day would stand such that they could be seen and heard by everyone in the room. For the time being, however, that particular podium is empty.
That doesn't mean you won't be addressed, however; once you've all found your places, the Wordsmith's voice can be heard above any ambient noise that may be present.
'In accordance with Rule Seven, the party responsible for the death of Securing must avoid detection in order to end the exercise here at the university. Which means, naturally, that you will all be given a fair chance to foil that attempt. That is why you are all here today.
To the innocent: seek justice for your fallen Apprentice. To the guilty: be prepared to take responsibility for your actions, should they succeed.' |
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acherontiastyx
