You shake your head, trying to clear the sudden blurriness intercepting your thoughts. You're lying down on a slightly stained white cot, that more resembles a hammock with how it gives way with just your weight on it. Above you a stark-white canvas, stretched wide by a series of questionably secured, thin metal rods planted a distance away. Around you are a series of curtains. You sniff the air: it feels like the outside, the same thin air of the castle grounds, barely touched by water vapor and tall evergreens...
You hear a rustling behind one of the curtains to see a young lady in a thick winter coat, colored like the faint yellow of a morning sun. Around her neck is a wool scarf, a pale green laced with golden threads in a waterfall down the length of it. She's carrying a small, empty metal tray, which jumps a little bit as she seems to have noticed you're awake. But she pats down her coat and tries to make herself resemble the image of security: a bit difficult, considering her petite stature, but it's admirable nonetheless.
"It's good to see that you're awake," she assures you. "It looks like the cold, thin air got to you before you could even join the others for the expedition... it's not too uncommon around here, unfortunately." She takes a moment to pout to herself a little. "Honestly, Russel... he really doesn't know not to throw people who just got here into the thick of things, does he?"
You only have more questions that need to be answered. "I know it's a lot," she starts, "My name is Rosemary. But before I answer anything else, let's make sure you're alright... it seems like you should be well enough to stand up?"
You try to do so without hesitation, though the sagging cot does make that a little difficult. You look back to see it's not much more than a cotton cloth dropped over a thin iron frame. Rosemary has to help you up, with a hand that you notice is wearing a ring adorned with a brilliant light-green emerald. "Sorry about the inconvenience," Rosemary apologizes. "We don't have the space or the resources around here for a dedicated medical ward, so this outdoor station in the courtyard was all I could do."
You look around to see that the makeshift hospital room you just stepped out of was actually something of a tent, situation in a pale garden surrounding by the Castle High's inner walls on all fours. There are several other stations set up similarly to your right; your station was at the far end of the long row, where the taut canvas making up the roof was torn and simply couldn't be stretched any further. Just beyond the edge of that roof with a small desk of stationary, with a simple picture frame on its edge.
Rosemary moves in front of you while you're examining your surroundings. "Now, a question: do you remember how you came here, to Castle High?"
You shake your head. Waking up on that damp cliff was the last you remembered. Rosemary nods. "I guessed as much. It seems to be more and more common these days. People from the surface, around Castle Low, suddenly appearing here... I was hoping one person would remember how they got here so that we could figure out why this was happening, but not remembering isn't something I can blame you for."
That reminds you. You know of the Castle Low, but what is this... Castle High?
Rosemary seems surprised at first, but softens. "The split was a long while ago," she recalls. "Maybe people already forgot it happened? Oh well... here, sit down!" she says, rushing to pull up a small wooden stool for you. "Let me explain..."
"A while back, Castle Low and Castle High were originally one and the same, a grand castle that was meant to eternally protect the people within and around it from all harm. But our people also saw into the future, and saw that over the course of the next millennia, untold numbers from all other realms would gather power and eventually attempt to besiege the nation, and that regardless of the Castle's strength, it would eventually fall into ruin, fading into the wild while its people's marks on the world would be erased. They decided on a plan that would ensure the eternal prosperity of the country.
"The Castle was split into two. The Castle Low would remain on earth to protect the peace of its people and shield it from today's enemies, while the Castle High would venture into the unknown realms and defeat tomorrow's enemies before they could ever grow strong enough to upset the sanctity of the nation. The people were divided equally between each side so that each of the Castles could perform as well as they could, and then the split finally occurred..."
Rosemary seems to drift off in her own mind for a little, but eventually snaps back to the present, with a smile. "Ah well, anyway, that's the gist of it. That's our job here! Fight the things that can destroy our country now before they ever touch Castle Low." She picked herself back up. "Anyway, I have to meet with some others in a few minutes... if you have any more questions, please, feel free to come back here. Though, maybe not right after everyone comes back from the current expedition... we might have a few wounded."
She bows a bit awkwardly before heading for a wooden gate, out of the courtyard and back into the hallways spanning the castle. You take a moment to stay where you are and examine things more closely. Rosemary was right about the lack of resources; the medical supplies in the tent didn't amount of much except for some disinfectant, a few other items for sanitation, and a couple few surgical tools all located three stalls down from where you were resting. You walk over to the desk you spotted earlier, seeing if there's anything more interesting.
On the desk is a piece of parchment, a fountain pen draining its ink just next to it. The ink drips didn't cover much of the page, but it looked as if the writer had quit before they even finished the first sentence of the letter they were writing on it. "Dear Father, I hope this letter finds you well; it's become more difficult to send letters from--" And that's where it cuts off.
You turn your attention to the picture frame. Framed is a black-and-white photo of several children. You think you recognize some of them... Those are Rosemary's eyes, aren't they? And the boy next to her has his arms posed squarely on his waist; you can see the resemblance in him to Russel. The others... you don't recognize.
You set the photograph down. You have a feeling you walked in on something you really shouldn't have. But still... there's a lot on your mind right now.
You hear a rustling behind one of the curtains to see a young lady in a thick winter coat, colored like the faint yellow of a morning sun. Around her neck is a wool scarf, a pale green laced with golden threads in a waterfall down the length of it. She's carrying a small, empty metal tray, which jumps a little bit as she seems to have noticed you're awake. But she pats down her coat and tries to make herself resemble the image of security: a bit difficult, considering her petite stature, but it's admirable nonetheless.
"It's good to see that you're awake," she assures you. "It looks like the cold, thin air got to you before you could even join the others for the expedition... it's not too uncommon around here, unfortunately." She takes a moment to pout to herself a little. "Honestly, Russel... he really doesn't know not to throw people who just got here into the thick of things, does he?"
You only have more questions that need to be answered. "I know it's a lot," she starts, "My name is Rosemary. But before I answer anything else, let's make sure you're alright... it seems like you should be well enough to stand up?"
You try to do so without hesitation, though the sagging cot does make that a little difficult. You look back to see it's not much more than a cotton cloth dropped over a thin iron frame. Rosemary has to help you up, with a hand that you notice is wearing a ring adorned with a brilliant light-green emerald. "Sorry about the inconvenience," Rosemary apologizes. "We don't have the space or the resources around here for a dedicated medical ward, so this outdoor station in the courtyard was all I could do."
You look around to see that the makeshift hospital room you just stepped out of was actually something of a tent, situation in a pale garden surrounding by the Castle High's inner walls on all fours. There are several other stations set up similarly to your right; your station was at the far end of the long row, where the taut canvas making up the roof was torn and simply couldn't be stretched any further. Just beyond the edge of that roof with a small desk of stationary, with a simple picture frame on its edge.
Rosemary moves in front of you while you're examining your surroundings. "Now, a question: do you remember how you came here, to Castle High?"
You shake your head. Waking up on that damp cliff was the last you remembered. Rosemary nods. "I guessed as much. It seems to be more and more common these days. People from the surface, around Castle Low, suddenly appearing here... I was hoping one person would remember how they got here so that we could figure out why this was happening, but not remembering isn't something I can blame you for."
That reminds you. You know of the Castle Low, but what is this... Castle High?
Rosemary seems surprised at first, but softens. "The split was a long while ago," she recalls. "Maybe people already forgot it happened? Oh well... here, sit down!" she says, rushing to pull up a small wooden stool for you. "Let me explain..."
"A while back, Castle Low and Castle High were originally one and the same, a grand castle that was meant to eternally protect the people within and around it from all harm. But our people also saw into the future, and saw that over the course of the next millennia, untold numbers from all other realms would gather power and eventually attempt to besiege the nation, and that regardless of the Castle's strength, it would eventually fall into ruin, fading into the wild while its people's marks on the world would be erased. They decided on a plan that would ensure the eternal prosperity of the country.
"The Castle was split into two. The Castle Low would remain on earth to protect the peace of its people and shield it from today's enemies, while the Castle High would venture into the unknown realms and defeat tomorrow's enemies before they could ever grow strong enough to upset the sanctity of the nation. The people were divided equally between each side so that each of the Castles could perform as well as they could, and then the split finally occurred..."
Rosemary seems to drift off in her own mind for a little, but eventually snaps back to the present, with a smile. "Ah well, anyway, that's the gist of it. That's our job here! Fight the things that can destroy our country now before they ever touch Castle Low." She picked herself back up. "Anyway, I have to meet with some others in a few minutes... if you have any more questions, please, feel free to come back here. Though, maybe not right after everyone comes back from the current expedition... we might have a few wounded."
She bows a bit awkwardly before heading for a wooden gate, out of the courtyard and back into the hallways spanning the castle. You take a moment to stay where you are and examine things more closely. Rosemary was right about the lack of resources; the medical supplies in the tent didn't amount of much except for some disinfectant, a few other items for sanitation, and a couple few surgical tools all located three stalls down from where you were resting. You walk over to the desk you spotted earlier, seeing if there's anything more interesting.
On the desk is a piece of parchment, a fountain pen draining its ink just next to it. The ink drips didn't cover much of the page, but it looked as if the writer had quit before they even finished the first sentence of the letter they were writing on it. "Dear Father, I hope this letter finds you well; it's become more difficult to send letters from--" And that's where it cuts off.
You turn your attention to the picture frame. Framed is a black-and-white photo of several children. You think you recognize some of them... Those are Rosemary's eyes, aren't they? And the boy next to her has his arms posed squarely on his waist; you can see the resemblance in him to Russel. The others... you don't recognize.
You set the photograph down. You have a feeling you walked in on something you really shouldn't have. But still... there's a lot on your mind right now.