(no subject)

[manofbusiness]

There is magic being done in his attic room. Childermass knows it when he feels it, but who...? Norrell is downstairs in the library, and never - never - comes up here anyway.

Abruptly, hoping to catch the intruder by surprise, he flings the door open, but he's the one to be surprised. The magic, strong enough to make him a little dizzy even with the door closed, suddenly hits him like a flood as he steps into the strange new place.

Before he can bite it back, he gasps and clutches the door frame, gritting his teeth and trying hard not to fall.

Comments

[sunbaked_baker]

(ooc: Eeeee! :D)

One of the people in the strange room is a red-haired baker, her deep green sweater and purple jeans protected by a blue, sunflower-dotted apron, who walks with a large tray of freshly-baked treats balanced against her hip. Despite her going about the perfectly mundane business of selling baked goods, magic has been set into her very skin and hair.

She looks over when the door opens, and a faint frown of concern appears on her face when she sees the man gasp and clutch at the door frame.

"Are you all right?" she asks, setting the tray aside on a nearby table in case the man needs help.

[manofbusiness]

"What - ?" He focuses on her, as best he can with his head spinning, and he can see her shining. "What - is this place? Is it yours?"

His accent is thick Yorkshire.

[sunbaked_baker]

Something in her expression clears. A newcomer. No wonder he's overwhelmed.

"Not mine, no," she answers with a sympathetic smile. Her own accent is softly American, or close enough to it. "This is Milliways. It's... elsewhere. It's a tavern and inn where different worlds meet."

"It tends to take people by surprise, so tradition dictates a newcomer's first drink is free," Rae adds. He looks like he maybe could use a drink.

[manofbusiness]

That gets a strained smile, as he begins to get used to the constant presence of the magic, enough to let his hold on the doorframe loosen a little.

"Do they serve whiskey?"

[sunbaked_baker]

"They serve anything you can think of," she replies, glad to see him starting to recover. "Which just so happens to include whiskey."

Though she is going to wait until he looks a little less shook up to mention the Bar serving by itself. She's still wondering if he'd be able to make it to the Bar, at the moment.

"Going to be okay? It can be a lot to take in, at first."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

There's a tall, fellow with his hair in a strange, rope-like braid sitting at a table near the door, doing something with a long list in different handwritings, on which several items are struck out and then written over.

He gets up when he sees Childermass, pencil in hand.

"Are you well?" he asks, stepping towards him.

There's a stylised raven on the chest of his leather tunic.

[manofbusiness]

"Yes." He's lying. "I only need - "

His eyes fall on the raven, and it shocks him into silence.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"You only need to find where up is?" the tall man with the raven tunic says, reaching out to steady Childermass by the elbow. "It's there."

He jerks his thumb towards the rafters.

"You're new."

[manofbusiness]

"Yes", he says again, numbly, without taking his eyes off the tunic. "Are you - is this the King's place?"

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"No," the man says. "Luckily not. This is an inn called Milliways, and it's magical and can be reached from many worlds and times."

[intoaman]

A raven sweeps past him, landing in on one of the rafters just above his head. A raven with a golden band around one leg. The raven calls out to him softly before vanishing into the gloom.

He drops down a moment later as a scarred young man wearing only trousers and the gold band around one ankle. "You should sit down, you don't look so good."

[manofbusiness]

He tracks the raven with as much focus as he can, his eyes sharp under the dizziness, but sways when he tries to take a step closer.

"You - you are..."

[intoaman]

"My name is Diaval." He prompts gently, still guiding the man to a chair. With his thick Irish(ish) accent it could well sound like devil.

[manofbusiness]

It does, a little, but Childermass is thinking of something else.

"Is this the King's place?" he asks, low and intense.

[intoaman]

"Its called Milliways. It's a safe place."

[astrangebell]

[ooc: depending on where in canon you're taking him from, if it's too weird for them to meet, just let me know and i'll send someone else. :)]

Though she will be embarrassed when she realizes it-- though she will doubtless concede that she absolutely ought to-- Mrs Strange does not recognize him. Not that Milliways requires prior acquaintance to speak with someone, and particularly not when the person in question looks so unsteady.

"Are you alright, sir?"

[manofbusiness]

[ooc: all is good, he's from the very beginning of canon or just before, so he doesn't know she exists yet]

He tries to straighten up at the sound of her voice, with minimal success because his head is spinning badly.

"In a few moments, I should think so. I thank you, madam."

[astrangebell]

"Do you require any assistance?" She doesn't quite reach out to him, but her hand is at the ready to steady him if he should fall. "Or something to drink?"

[manofbusiness]

"Perhaps you could tell me where I am?" he asks - quietly ignoring the offer of a drink, because for all he knows, this is Faerie and everyone knows that's a bad idea.

[astrangebell]

"Only in part," she says hesitantly. "It is called Milliways. It is-- something like an inn." Only, well, magic.

[yinyangwizard]

"Sir?" There's a smallish Japanese fellow standing nearby, dressed in a dark grey kimono with a pattern of windblown maple leaves in various colors. "Are you all right?" He looks genuinely concerned.

[manofbusiness]

He doesn't see many Japanese people, even in the cities of the North, and never at Hurtfew. The man gets a befuddled glance as Childermass drags himself up with white knuckles to lean on the wall.

"Where is this place?"

[yinyangwizard]

"It's called Milliways, and it's...complicated." Seimei is worried that the newcomer will faint from sheer terror, and might be safer sitting on the floor. However, Seimei is not going to insult him by suggesting it. "Do you think you could make it to a chair, if I assist you?"

[manofbusiness]

If it was only fear, he'd be fine.

"...if you assist me", he echoes - and if it's grudging, it's only because he hates to show weakness.

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei lets the newcomer lean on him as they make their way to the fireplace, where he settles the man in one of the big armchairs. He's gathered by now that the newcomer's distress is caused by something more than the usual surprise and confusion of a first-time visitor. The unusual and highly concentrated energies of Milliways are interacting with his chi in an unusual fashion, and he is all too aware of it.

"Take a deep breath," Seimei says in a calming voice. "Hold it. Now let it out. Inhale. Hold. Exhale."

This is more than just guided meditation. A person's breath carries energy: controlled breathing in this situation is akin to equalizing the pressure in an airlock, except with magic.