The Glass Key Inn (Cameo and Kya)
 

Kya Katsumi:

It seemed like the place had kept him trapped inside for his whole life. The Glass Key Inn had seemed like such an inviting place during the winter storm, with it's warm lights and inviting aromas. At first everything had been alright, the magical means of providing everything hadn't seemed all that strange.

The trouble began when Dyaus tried to leave. Doors wouldn't open, strange noises began flitting trough the place at night until it escalated to frightening proportions. Knives began flying trough the air everytime the young man mentioned wanting to leave. So the white clad traveler had learned to never speak of such things.

Now though, all the amber eyed man wanted to do was scream. Three travelers were coming towards the Inn. He could see them trough the window, running from the rains which had come with spring. He knew it was hopeless, they would never hear him.

Corrine was running towards the town, her black short top converse splashing through puddles of water, as the rain poured. She had been traveling for days, after an incident at home with her powers that caused her to run away. There was no way she was going to let them talk her into letting scientists experiment on her, what kind of family would even suggest such a thing? Though, it was her own fault probably for keeping them hidden for so long.

Up ahead, though visibility was minimal, she could see the orange glow of lights from the town's Inn. Finally, shelter. Stepping up onto the porch, Corrine shivered, looking down at her awful appearance. She was soaked, through and through. Her short skirt was even longer from the amount of rain it held, and her small t-shirt, bigger, as her brown wavey hair clung to her face and stuck to her arms. Deciding there wasn't any way to clean up before entering, she shrugged, pushing open the door and stepping inside.

[[I'll bring my second character in in the next post! ^^ I still haven't decided what I want him to be.]]

The white haired man waited by the door quietly, hoping for a chance of escape. It was such a long time, dragging on and on until he heard the door creak open. Though the moment Dyaus moved, or tried to, an invisible force rooted his feet to the floor. With a sigh of frustration he closed his amber eyes to hide the tears he was certain were welling up.

This chance had slipped away so quickly, without even a glimpse of the outside world he missed so much. Instead of wallowing in his self pity, Dyaus decided to remedy his loneliness. "Hello, is anyone in here? Please come speak with me." There was so much he had to say to his fellow captive, so many things to warn this person about.

Maxine shoved her long, very curly, mass of carrot orange hair out of her face. This was not the time to panic, sure there was a storm going on with thunder and lighting but the young traveler was sure she would find someplace to stay. A creaking sound caught her attention, making her look of the see a sign with an image of a blue key upon it. Letting her brown eyes flow over to the building nearby, she couldn't help but smile.

Finally! It was a place to stay, there were warm lights and... Walking to the door Max pushed it open to step inside with a smile. The place looked deserted, but voices reached her sensitive ears. The young woman wasn't sure if she should follow them or not. Instead of doing so, the nineteen year old went to settle down comfortably with her bag in front of a warm fire. The armchair she chose was one of those big fluffy ones everyone wants to get their hands on.

Looking around the Inn, Corrine had determined it totally deserted, when she heard someone call hello. Thinking it must be the owner, busy and asking her to come to him since he couldn't come to her, she searched him out, spotting him and giving a weary smile. "Hi," she started, "I was just coming in for a moment to get out of the rain. I'll leave if I'm not welcome." She gave another akward smile as she looked towards the ground.

Truth was, she'd hoped it was ok that she stayed until the rain passed, she didn't have anywhere else to go anyway. The weeks events had broken her spirit and her current appearance didn't give her much self confidence as her clothes and hair clung to her body in a wet mess.


Stepping up to the door a few moments after Maxine, Izo pushed it open, stepping inside, his grey eyes scanning the room. It looked deserted except for the woman who had entered just before him. His silver hair was flat against his head from the rain, a part of it covering his right eye as it always did. He stood there for a moment hearing voices, wondering if one of them was the owner and if he would be coming out to greet them.

When no one arrived, Izo made his way to sit in the chair across from Maxine in front of the fire, hoping to warm up and dry off. They'd better have a dryer here or he would be moving on to the next Inn in no time at all. Staring at the woman across from him without trying to hide it, he watched as the orange color from the flames danced across her face.

Dyaus let out a bark of wry laughter at her words. They were in the front entrance of the Inn, or very near it anyway. After shaking his hair from his eyes, the young man regarded this new comer with a wry smile. "You won't be leaving this place, ever. I've been trapped here for a while now. At least I have company now." An annoying memory tickled his mind. A blurry image of people smiling, waving, and dancing joyously around a fire. Then darkness invaded the picture. Sullen words spoken loudly, then nothing. Soon after the Inn had appeared, and he'd been trapped inside.

Shaking it off, the tall man motioned to a nearby set of stairs. "If you'd like, I can show you where the rooms are. Take your pick, make yourself comfortable and don't talk about leaving. The Inn gets angry if you do."

A look of surprise flitted across the young woman's face. Her eyes traveled over the man seated in front of her. She'd never seen anyone like him in her travels, then again those travels had just begun. The world was such a vast place, and Maxine hadn't wanted to remain in her hometown forever. Leaving had been easy, the hard part was surviving away from home in the great big world.

Max noticed he was staring, and smiled a little to herself. It was the hair, both curly and carrot red. The combination was reason enough for any strange looks she got. "My name's Maxine, but please call me Max." Glancing at his hair, the young woman grinned. "You look like a wet dog, luckily you don't smell like one." That was Max for you, blunt and always speaking her mind with a temper to boot. Underneath it all was a kind heart willing to do anything for her friends.

Corrine raised an eyebrow. Was this man crazy? She certainly didn't want to follow him anywhere. No wonder the place was empty, the guests had either run away scared, or this weirdo had murdered them all. "I- uh, left my bags, outside," she'd had no bags, but he didn't know that, "Let me just get them really quickly!" She added, nervously smiling as she slowly began to back away. Turning on her heel she headed for the door.


Smiling at Max when she said he looked like a wet dog, he ran his fingers through his hair. If she only knew. "I don't smell like a wet dog?" he asked, "That's good to know, sometimes I have that problem." He was still smiling. To her it would seem like a joke, but he was being so serious. "You can call me Izo, Max."

((Sorry it's super short. My mom is talking my ear off -.- I can NOT focus. lol))

She would find out soon enough. Already there was an ominous rumble which seemed to shake the foundations of the building as the young woman rushed off. And Dyaus had been hoping things were going to be easy, he should have known it wouldn't work out that way. Events always went twisting and turning into complicated paths, making a labyrinth of the world. Tapestries could unravel, but with labyrinths.. You needed to find your path, much like in life.

The amber eyed man wasn't even close to doing that.

Laughing a little at his comment, the orange haired woman began fiddling with her hair. She wasn't used to sitting still for too long, not without something to do. "Nice to meet you Izo. So what brings you here?" Max debated about telling him all right off the bat, and decided against it. Not many people liked seeing a young woman traveling the world alone, they didn't think it was proper behavior. Stuffy stuck up people... They were partially why she'd left her home town, no matter how much she loved the place.

((That's fine, it happens. XD ))

Watching Max as she played with her hair, Izo couldn't help but smile. Her red curls made her unique, and he liked them. Before he could respond to her question, although he wouldn't have known how anyway. How eactly do you tell someone you were a scientific experiment? Before he could even open his mouth, he saw a small brunette girl heading quickly towards the exit of the Inn. As she neared it, the floors began to shake and fire and lights flickered menacingly. "What the..." Izo stood, sending a confused look to Max when the brunette was unable to open the door.


As she walked quickly towards the door, a low rumble in the Inn caused her to run the last few steps as the lights began to flicker. Reaching out, her fingers grasped the door handle tightly as she tried to pull the door open, with no luck. Turning to put her back on the door as the placed felt like it was going to fall apart, Corrine's heart raced. Had that man been telling the truth, or was he causing all of this? All she knew was she wanted out.

Standing quickly Max ran to see what was happening. Her curiosity often got her into trouble, but what she found was more surprising then she'd expected. The girl was trying to open the door.. And it wasn't working! taking a deep breath the young woman went to try it herself. "Come on you stupid door, open up!" Her words seemed to make the building angrier as the floors wobbled up and down under Max making her fall to the ground with a large oopmh. Rubbing the back of her head, the orange haired woman looked up at the other girl with a sheepish smile. "Well that was interesting.. My name's Max by the way."

Shaking his head with the knowledge of experience, Dyaus walked quietly towards the front door. He watched the whole scene while wincing silently in sympathy. He'd done much worse, trying to use a table to break the door down had ended up with him getting a few new scars upon his arms.

"The Inn doesn't want us to leave, didn't I tell you that earlier?" Announcing himself with the words the white haired man stepped forward with his arms crossed. A sullen expression flitted across Dyaus's features as he regarded these new companions who had joined his plight.

When the other girl appraoched, Corrine moved away from the door, hopeful that she would be able to open it. When she fell back, Corrine moved to help her up, not introducing herself. She was worried and scared, and now didn't feel like the appropriate time for introductions. She glanced up as the male who'd said they were trapped approached. She was scared, and really confused and unsure of what to think or do. "Who are you?" she asked, "And why can't we leave?"


Close behind Max, Izo stood and made his way to stand near the girls, watching as the door didn't open. When Corrine helped Max up, he turned to see Dyaus approaching. A bad feeling made all the hairs on his body stand on end. Waiting for the man's response, Izo prepared himself to transform and attack should it be called for to protect these women.

Leveling her brown eyes to regard this new comer, Max tried not to appear too angry. So, someone had been there before them. He hadn't said a word to stop them from coming! But after seeing how the Inn had treated them, the young woman couldn't blame him. Turning her gaze to Izo, she smiled a little at seeing how the man stepped in front of them. he seemed a little stressed out though, so the orange haired woman went to place a hand on his arm with a questioning look.

Closing his eyes briefly, the man made no move forward, rather he leveled a glance at the little group which showed a whole different side of him. Earlier he had been kind, almost benevolent. They had tried to leave, after he'd been so kind as to invite them inside his home, his place... His sanctuary. Shaking his head Dyaus shoved the strange thoughts out of his mind. It was the Inn, it had to be the Inn. He'd been alone in the place too long.

"My name is Dyaus. I can't say very much more, since all I remember is the storm which brought me to this place." No matter how much the white haired man tried, no other images came to mind.

Izo listened as the male spoke, only relaxing when Max placed her handon his arm. This place was really strange. He took a moment to look around, it had seemed so normal too. "There has to be a way out," he said. "Show us around, so that we may see what we're dealing with," he more or less demanded of Dyaus. Casting a glance to Max as if to assure her, he had it under control, he waited for Dyaus to start moving.


A storm? she wondered. Like the one that brought them here? Had the Inn lured them to this place? When Izo spoke, Corrine agreed. After all, it was just a building. There had to be some way out of here. She probably could have left already, had she used her power in front of these people. Unfortunately she was too afraid that her family would be looking for her. If she used her power, any one of these people would be able to tell them where she was.

Biting her bottom lip, she contemplated using the power anyway, but finally decided against it. She would wait until she was separated from the group before moving through the Inn wall. Staying behind, she waited to see what the group would do.

Dyaus mumbled a little to himself then walked away. He stopped for a moment to make sure the little group was following and began walking trough the Inn while stopping now and then to explain what each room was. There was a library, a ball room and a kitchen ... Basically though the Inn looked rather small from the outside it was truly a mansion or a castle within. There were hundreds of rooms, each one unique and full of things. The decorations ranged from homey to aristocratic, or rustic and modern. It all depended on the purpose of the room and the section of the very large Inn.

"This place is magic, from the nails in the floorboards to the windows and drapes. It has a mind of it's own and for some reason wants company. Don't harm the place please... There's no telling what might happen." It almost sounded like Dyaus was defending the place. He surprised himself thinking that maybe it would be best if they all slept like the Beauty form the tales, slept and remained in his company forever. Almost as if in answer to his thoughts, the Inn opened up a room filled with spinning wheels of every imaginable kind.

As Dyaus began giving them a tour of the place, Max removed her hand from Izo. Though she found it sweet that he wanted to defend them... It was also slightly annoying. The young flame haired woman could defend herself, and was quite sure of that fact until they arrived in a room full of spinning wheels. They were all so fascinating and enchanting... Drawing her in, the place exuded magic in a very subtle way that Max could not feel.

There was no magic in her blood, no instinct or intuition to warn of danger as she moved forward to touch one of the objects.

Following silently behind the group, Corrine planned to fall behind and use her power to escape, and she sure hoped it would work. As they walked, she became more and more captivated by the entire place. It was actually quite beautiful, and clearly magical being that it was much much larger than it looked from the outside.

When the door opened to reveal the wheels, everyone seemed preoccupied enough, now was her chance. Backing up a few feet, she turned and dissapeared down a hall. Everything seemed to have changed between the front door and where they had ended up, the Inn's doing of course. But, maybe if it didn't know she was trying to leave, it wouldn't do anything to stop her.


When the door opened, Izo followed Max. It was certainly magical, like nothing he'd ever seen before. And he had seen a lot. "What is this place?" he asked, hoping it was some sort of central control something or other that they might be able to destroy to be freed of this place. Glancing over his shoulder, his eyes searched for the small brunette girl who didn't appear to be with the group anymore.

A yelp of surprise left Max as she felt one of the needles prick her finger. The room swayed to and fro as something strange and magical began taking hold of her body. Dark shadows leaped out of nooks and crannies, seemingly coming forward to capture the young woman. This, of course, all remained in her mind. It was a dream, but not a dream. The Inn's personality was coming trough, even as Max fell to the floor in a crumpled heap.

Dyaus watched this all without a word. He wasn't quite sure if he was glad or not that at least one of them had fallen for his trap. Actually.. He was. A smile flitted across his features as the Inn rumbled on about one of the women trying to escape. Cursing silently, the man ran from the spindle room trough the halls. Whether or not this was to rescue or harm Corrine remained to be seen. Even Dyaus wasn't sure of that, he was so confused his own thoughts were mingling more and more with that of the Inn.

When Max reached out to touch one of the things, a red flag went off in Izo's mind causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. In the next moment, she crumpled to the floor. "Max!" He ran over to her, kneeling as he moved her curly hair out of her face. He looked up to Dyaus, but the man was gone. Frowning deeply, he picked Mex up, bridal style, only to be met with spinning wheels of doom, launching themselves towards them.

Needle tips gleamed as they shot forward, stabbing at him. Dodging quickly, even while holding Max tighlty to him, Izo managed to make it to the door and into the hall. They were safe now, but he knew it wouldn't be for long. Running down the hall, Izo stopped when they came to a large opening. Looking up, stairs swirled around them leading up and up, it looked like there many stories to this place. The outer appearance had certainly been misleading.

He set Max gently down on the floor, kneeling over her. He checked her pulse. It was slow, but it was there. Her breathing was shallow, but he was thankful she was ok. Placing a hand on her cheek, he was relieved to find that her tempurature was also normal. Now he was only hopeful that she might wake soon, or else he would have to find a place better for her to rest in this dangerous place. Brushing his hand over her forehead, pushin her hair back, he tried to wake her, "Max," he spoke softly, "wake up Max..."


Cameron was walking down the long corridor, when she thought she heard footstpes. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Dyaus running at her. Her eyes widened as she turned, tripping over herself, before catching herself and running down the hall away from him. What did he want from them!? Up ahead, the hall opened up. It didn't look like the place where they had originally entered the Inn, but she could see windows, which meant that wall lead outside.

Stopping in front of it, she looked back at Dyaus again, he was getting closer. She turned to face the wall, closing her eyes to concentrate. Slowly, she began to change into an almost ghostly figure, almost transparent. She'd done it. Well, she thought, here it goes... Taking a step forward to move through the wall, she held her breath, hoping this would work. When her intangible body seemed to make contact with the wall, there was a loud crackling sound as she yelped, her body returning to normal as she was flung back onto the floor. Her entire body hurt, as she tried to sit up, squinting at the wall through one eye. Had the damn place electrocuted her?

The young woman was oblivious to all the things going on around her. There were so many things in her mind, trapped like she was. Perhaps they were the previous occupants of the Inn, or maybe they were the creators of the place. All she knew was that everything centered around Dyaus. What a horrible man he'd been... An evil sorcerer of the worst kind, trapped within the walls of the Inn until he learned that he could not control everyone with his magical abilities. And of course, Max and the others were the guinea pigs of this plan.

It was outrageous! A small angry sound escaped her lips, and her brown eyes fluttered open for a few moments before closing again. She'd caught a glimpse of Izo, hovering worriedly over her. It made Max smile even as the Inn, yes it did have a mind of it's own, began showing her even more things. The past, three people had given their lives up to create the Inn as a place for the once good mage, turned evil sorcerer, to regain who he used to be. But he was beginning to corrupt the place, and that was why the Inn had drawn the people most likely to be able to help the man into it's depths.

------------------

A smile crossed his face, more like a smirk, as the white haired man watched. What a fool, to think she could escape that place when someone like him had no chance! The Inn had tried to make him forget, but Dyaus was capturing pieces of his memories again. Ah, what a joy it was going to be to play with these people.

"You seem so shocked. This place was created to keep me locked inside you know, so I doubt one with powers so small as yours could escape." Magic, the amber eyed man had plenty of it. And the young woman had potential, but apparently she would have rather died then learn how to use it properly. That little trick of hers, Dyaus could do that and so much more... But there were those who were even more powerful then him, they had been his friends. Those friends were the ones who trapped him inside.

((I hope this is alright, it just seemed to fit that Dyaus is evil))

Damn, Izo thought to himself. Max had opened her eyes for a moment, but whatever she was injected with had pulled her back into unconsciousness. Looking around, he was relieved to find that they were still alone. Then what had happened to the other girl, and Dyaus for that matter. Focusing again on Max's safety, he lifted her again, wondering what his options were.

Heading up the first flight of stairs holding Max close, he would walk down another long hall and pick a bedroom. Feeling confident that Dyaus would have no idea where in this enormous place they were hiding, he would lay Max down on the bed. This poor girl, what kind of monster would lure people into this place, and what did he plan on doing with them? Izo would stay by Max's side for a while longer, hoping for her to wake. If she didn't, he knew he would have to find Dyaus and make him undo what had been done.


Watching Dyaus as he approached, Corrine frowned, small power? Well, he was right, she hardly knew how to use her power at all. She wanted to stand, but her body still ached. What did he mean he was locked in here, and why? "What do you want with us?" she asked, rubbing her head. If he tried anything funny, despite the pain she was feeling, she planned on going all sorts of ninja on him. Not that she knew anything about karate, or martial arts, but she was certainly lucky to still have the pepper spray in her pocket that her father had given her.

((I don't mind at all! I think it's great for the story!))

((I'm assuming he's sitting on the bed.))

Fuzzily the young woman opened her eyes after a few more minutes in communion with the kind side of the Inn. It was the strangest story, and sad too. Dyaus had only become what he was because of how people had begun to treat him, with fear and constant disdain. No wonder his friends had wanted to give him a chance to regain who he had once been! Turning her head upon the comfortable pillow she caught sight of Izo and gave him a smile. "Don't tell me you've been dragging me around this whole time..." murmured the orange haired woman.

She had no idea how long she'd been out of it, or what Izo had to go trough in order to keep her safe. One thing was certain, she was flattered beyond imagining that he had done what he did. With a groan the brown eyed woman sat up and leaned forward to give the man a hug. "Thanks for taking care of me."

--------------

A chuckle left him. He hadn't been the one who called them inside! "The Inn thinks you people can change me, make me good. I doubt that's possible. Instead I'll play with all of you to my heart's content." Moving forward, there was a mischievous gleam in his amber eyes. He wondered what the young woman would do confronted with the man tales were told about... Horrific tales, of people encased in ice, frozen to death.

Smiling warmly down at her, Izo was relieved to see her wake. "Max" he said with a smile, "Welcome back." He moved to give her some room in case she felt ok to stand. "We need to get out of here," he stopped, appearing in deep thought for a moment, "But I don't know how. This place is clearly run with magic, maybe Dyaus runs it? I don't even know where to start..."


Cameron pushed herself off the ground, "Play with us? We're not toys, what's wrong with you?" she said with attitude. Usually she wasn't so feisty, but she'd just been shocked and now this man was acting like she was to be some sort of puppet. "I'm going to find the others, and we're going to find a way out of here, and you won't be able to stop us, you freak."

Cameron was livid. Who did this guy think he was? Secretly, she was more scared than anything. Her heart was racing and she was unsure of what would happen next, but maybe if she didn't act scared, he would think the job would be too hard or something. Frowning deeply at him, she shoved passed him to head back down the hall, wondering where to begin looking for the others.

((So will he have like split personality? Where sometimes he's like, 'help me' and other times he's like, 'IMUNNA EATCHOO'? lol))

(( Hahaha o gosh, you're tempting me so much! Hmm, blackouts .. Oh fine!))

After looking at the silver haired man for a few moments she tried to think of a way to get out. Sighing, she tried to stand but found her legs unsteady. Falling back to the bed with a plop, Max frowned. "Looks like I'm staying here for a while either way." Twirling her hair around, she looked at the man with a slightly dazed expression. "You know what, why don't you stay here too.." Leaning forward she grabbed his shirt and tried to pull him into the bed with her. So... Maybe those spindles had other side effects too.


What had happened? Blinking, the amber eyed man heard the young woman he'd met earlier calling him a freak. With a shocked look the man moved to follow her. "Please wait! What happened?" Dyaus's heart was racing as he tried to think of what had happened. "You have to tell me! Please!" This wasn't the first time he'd had a blackout, but this was the first time someone had been there to see it.

((I think Izo should be worried...))

"Huh?" Izo found himself on top of Max with a small umf. "Max..." what was she doing? She was in no condition to be fooling around, besides, her blank stare worried him. She was clearly still drugged, and although he was physically attracted to her, he didn't want to take advantage of anyone who wasn't in their right mind.

His face was close to hers, and his mind told him to stand up, but he was already so close, one kiss wouldn't hurt, hell, they were probably going to die in here anyway. Without debating it any further, Izo kissed her.


What the... The hall had suddenly ended. "You have to be kidding me," she mumbled. What kind of place had such a long hall with a head end like that? A magic Inn, of course. With a frown, Cameron turned around to face the man. Her power might not have worked to get out of this place, but it certainly would work to get through it, right?

Before she tried, his words struck her. Tell him what happened? What was wrong with this man? He was truly crazed. When he stopped in front of her, she raised an eyebrow. Was this a trap too? "You're fucking crazy," she said, "That's what's happening..." She wasn't in no mood to be toyed with or set up again.

Standing there for a moment, Corrine studied Dyaus. He seemed sincere. "You really don't know what happened," she said as more of a statement than a question. "I don't know what you did with the others, but you were talking about the Inn bringing us here to help you or something," she paused, "You're face looked really psycho-murderer, way different than the way you look now." She put her hands on her hips, "So, how am I supposed to know when your little lightswitch flips? Cause I'm telling you right now, you creep me the fuck out."


When Max began resisting, Izo moved back a few inches to look at her questioningly, before remembering she had been drugged. Standing quickly, he began to blush too, "Right! That's why I did it. I mean that's why I kissed you, that's all I did. I thought it would help, and it did, that's why I did it. Kiss you, I mean." Izo was waving his hands around like a blubbering fool. When he finally told himself to shut up, he looked down to the floor, rubbing his head, cursing himself.

Softly laughing, the young woman pushed herself to her feet and went to hug Izo with a smile. So, he had liked kissing her it seemed! "So ... you don't like me at all?" What was she saying? This wasn't how Max usually was, but Izo was different from any other man she'd met. He could have left her back there, she knew, but instead the silver haired man had brought her to safety. Looking up at him, the orange haired woman placed a kiss on his neck with a blush, even as she hid her face.

Dyaus couldn't believe what she was saying, but he had to. It explained so much... "I have no idea how you can tell, hopefully you'll figure it out. I... Hurting others is not something I want to do." He'd done so once, a few times actually. It had been too much, seeing their anguished faces and hearing those screams. Maybe that was when his blackouts started.