demandsatisfaction | noctium

as far as I can tell, between 9 and 10. the thing that tells you the floor has been fizzing on and off

[ There's another pause between messages, but this time it's not for self-doubt.

A few minutes later, Matt sends a photo. ]

Thoughts?

[She has to squint at the dark, blurry picture that pops up on her phone screen. What even is this? From context: the elevator shaft, but by the gods, what a bad photo.]

I hope you're not thinking of pursuing a career in photography.

[Don't quit your day job, Matt. He probably means thoughts about climbing into the elevator shaft, though.]

If you climb up there, is there actually any way for you to crawl out? This picture is not especially illuminating.

Well, if I were thinking about it, I'd appreciate the unvarnished feedback 😂

yeah, I can see how it'd be tough to make out, but there DOES look like a way to crawl out

it's just a little too far for me to jump

(I'm also not thinking of a career as an acrobat)

Unvarnished feedback is just one of the services I can provide.

Follow up question: By "a way to crawl out," do you mean an open doorway leading into a hallway, or a ventilation shaft that you can get equally stuck in?

[ There's a pause after she sends that last message, though it's showing up as read. ]

wow

it's like you're here with me

It just seemed karmically likely. In my experience, fate is loath to make things simple or easy.

Send me your location. I'm going to come and meddle.

You're speaking my language, Ms. Hollow

[ Ping! Matt's in a multilevel mall in the Sapphire District, if his location data is to be believed. ]

I'll be the guy stuck between probably floors 9 and 10, playing music off this thing as loud as I can

[ It seems like it'll help this person find him. And more importantly, when you're stuck in an elevator, you gotta make your own fun. Matt's just happy he figured out how to get his laptop's music library onto this space phone.

Faint music echoes tinnily up and down the elevator shaft. Is Matt singing along? You can't prove that. ]

There's no need to be so formal. Please call me Lilias.

[She's travelling across the city to break him out of an elevator shaft. That seems like grounds for being on a first-name basis to her.

When she arrives at the location he's sent her, Lilias has to spend a while roaming around the tenth floor and sidling up to different elevators before she finds what she thinks is the right one. The indicator light above the doors is off, and she can hear the sounds of music emanating from within, just barely audible over the din of the mall music and crowds. She raps on the metal doors with her cane, holding her phone in her other hand while she considers the barrier.]

If you are on top of the elevator, I would suggest going back inside. As a precaution.

[Not that she's planning to make anything dangerous happen in there, but she's never done this before and she's not certain how it's going to go.]

And try not to touch anything.

Lilias, then.

I'm Matt. Pleased to meet you, shame about the circumstances

[ Matt says this to so many people on this planet that it should be his email signature.

Anyway, Matt leaves the elevator hatch open, but drops back inside to start his impromptu rescue-flare jam party. The music is loud enough to amply fill the little box, but not so loud that he fails to hear the metallic echo of Lilias' cane. ]

But put me out, put me out, put me out of miseryyyy--

[ Matt's phone buzzes. He checks his messages. And, after a moment, yells: ]

Lilias? Is that you?

[Yeah, she’s not about to yell at the closed doors of this mall elevator. She leans her cane against the wall next to the door and painstakingly taps a couple of messages out on her little network device.]

Yes.

[More tapping.]

I’m going to try to open the door.

[Even if she knew the spell to do this, she wouldn’t be able to cast it now, without Belzath with her. There’s also no way that she can even attempt to lever the door open herself; even if she had the right tools, she just doesn’t have the strength. But that doesn’t mean that she is without options.

Since she formed her pact, Lilias has learned the value of taking the time to do things the smart way. If she can take the necessary time, she prefers to plan and strategize and put together a solution to solve her problems with elegant efficiency. It allows for reduced risk, collateral, energy expenditure; for increased convenience and chance for success. This is her preference both in spellcraft and in life, and it is why, in the weeks since she arrived here, she has spent so much of her time learning all she can about this world, its magic, and its people.

But sometimes a more immediate approach is required. Sometimes someone is trapped in the elevator of a public mall and the local emergency services are too busy putting out fires to come wedge open a door. So since she has no specialized solution to this problem and no physical ability to tackle it—she’ll just have to brute-force it with magic.

Summoning a very rudimentary knowledge of elevator doors, she rests her hands against the cool metal and pushes a surge of lightning back through the mechanical arm all the way to the door’s motor, demanding it open the door for her. With a noise like a metal fork being fried in a microwave, the door jerks about halfway open before the motor shorts out in a rather fantastic explosion of sparks and a billow of acrid smoke.]

[ On Matt's end, he's curiously waiting to see what an attempt to open the elevator door will look like.

--And gets his answer in explosion form! Matt hits the deck, his phone clattering to the elevator floor.

After a pause, he slips the phone into his pocket and hauls himself back up through the roof hatch. From Lilias' perspective, a tousle of dark hair pops up some yards below her, accompanied by a bright and inquisitive face. ]

Hey! Nice to meet you!

[Almost as soon as the door has jammed half-open and the shower of sparks inside the elevator shaft has subsided, Lilias grabs her cane and sticks her head through the door to see the situation for herself. It's gloomy and difficult to make out too many details, but she is gratified to see that nothing has been obviously damaged beyond the smoking door motor. She's probably going to be on the hook for that later.

She's still looking up at the lightly smoking motor when Matt appears from the elevator car below. Lilias looks down at him and smiles.]

Likewise.

[She makes a light, sweeping gesture with one ring-adorned hand.]

This is my first elevator rescue. How am I doing?

So far, pretty impressive, [ he calls up. ] Only problem is I still don't know how to get from here to there.

[ In the meantime, a little light to work by can't hurt. Matt focuses a moment, his breath hitching; a gold-glowing bauble appears over his head, drifting up the elevator shaft to hover somewhere slightly above the tenth floor. ]

You don't happen to have a length of rope, do you?

[ Of course, he doesn't have a whole lot of upper arm strength with which to hold a rope. And he doesn't know how to tie a climbing har--

Harness.

Oh. ]

[Her eyes follow the glowing orb as it floats up the shaft, shedding a warm golden glow. So-illuminated, the elevator shaft's various mechanisms and hidden details come into full clarity, making the space seem an especially inappropriate place for a random man to be hanging about.]

Unfortunately, I left my rope at home.

[By her inflection, home refers to her home planet, rather than just her local dwelling. But whatever strength Matt lacks to use for climbing, her own ability to provide an anchor for the upper end is certainly even less. She leans a shoulder against the side of the door as she considers the sight below her.]

I have a spell that can lift you out. [Serendipitously, this is almost the only native magic of hers that she still retains the ability to use.] But you must promise not to wriggle. The stability mid-levitation leaves something to be desired.

Levitation.

[ Matt's eyebrows climb, his face paling slightly. He wants to be good-giving-game here, especially because he has no better suggestions himself, but the prospect of floating in the air above a multi-story drop with a spell that precludes random movement ... is a nail-biter for him. ]

Ah. Before I say yes officially to you doing that, is there anything in addition to not wriggling that I can do to help this spell succeed?

[Lilias doesn't quite catch the way he goes pale all the way down there in that gloomy elevator shaft, but she nonetheless picks up on his reluctance to be scooped up and slowly floated up to freedom. Being reassuring is not something she feels she's especially strong at, but she'll give it her best shot.]

You don't need to do anything, Matt. There's no danger of the spell failing part way up. The only reason I cautioned you is because I don't want you to knock your head into something before you reach the top.

[How's she doing? The worst case scenario has de-escalated from "fall to your death" to "crack your head against the side of the shaft." Um...]

I can't lift you unless you're willing, so it's your choice. But I won't let anything happen to you.

[ Actually, this sounds fairly reassuring to him. "No danger of the spell failing partway up" is hard to beat as a guarantee, and the explanation for her warning makes sense to him. Slowly, Matt nods.

Then, with some effort, he clambers the rest of the way through the hatch and lands in an undignified crouch on the elevator roof. For a few moments, he breathes, trying to convince his hands to unclench from the elevator cables.

Once more, he looks up at Lilias. ]

Okay. Go for it.

Right then.

[Lilias inclines her head, regarding him in the elevator shaft below as she takes a steady breath. As she lifts a hand to point down at him, the shadows cast by his floating light writhe, spread, and swell into the air like mushrooms after a summer rain. Within moments they have swathed Matt like a hazy, immaterial cocoon, and the contact of his shoes against the elevator's roof is weightlessly incidental.

She makes a short, beckoning gesture, and he rises, smoothly and slowly. True to her warning, the buoying shadows do nothing to assist Matt's ability to keep his balance centered, but he nonetheless rises inexorably up until he's level with the half-open door where Lilias waits. She leans forward and extends a slim hand toward him once he has stopped his ascent, bracing herself against the door so she can pull him out.]

Here, take my hand.

[ --Oh.

This cocoon effect is very nice. And the beckoning gesture is elegant. Matt tries to focus on those aspects of the spell, and his own body--the alignment of his head and spine, down through hips and legs to the tips of his air-skimming toes. It's not enough to make Matt forget his fear. But it does distract him from it a little bit, until Lilias' hand comes into reach.

This time he doesn't hesitate: just wraps his fingers around hers with intense gratitude. ]

[Despite the magic doing the work of keeping him suspended midair, Lilias trembles slightly with effort as she pulls him out of the yawning emptiness of the elevator shaft. But her grip is firm, her countenance free from doubt, and Matt comes to a gentle stop just above the polished floor—low enough to rest his feet on it, although the spell bearing his weight makes walking a near-impossibility. Leaning on her cane, Lilias graces him with a slightly playful smile.]

Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?

[The weight of her magical efforts and hurried journey here settles over her as she reclaims her hand. She has to spend another moment gathering herself before dissolving the spell, letting the gathered shadows evaporate like morning mist. Finally, gravity reasserts itself.]

[ When Matt's feet touch down and really stick, he lets out an audible sigh of relief. Halfway out, the sigh turns into a wondering laugh, Matt's distracted mind picking up Lilias' smile and reflecting it back to her. ]

That was--

Awesome.

[ He feels a lot of things. Ebullience over the life-or-death display of magic. Deferred adrenaline. Embarrassment over having been scared at all, when in retrospect it was a very brief trip across the elevator shaft and everything went perfectly.

Finally, he collects himself enough to ask, ] What about you, are you okay?

[Lilias is a little tickled by the degree to which Matt seems to need to collect himself after finally escaping from his elevator prison. Not that she can really blame him—although she has no particular fear of heights, the idea of being trapped in a little metal box in a dark elevator shaft is enough to make her skin prickle uncomfortably. Perhaps she was just expecting him to downplay it a little more.]

I am just fine.

[There is no need to worry about this lady; she isn't the one who spent the last however long trapped in an elevator. But even as she says it, she's conscious of how wrung dry she feels, and she inclines her head slightly in reluctant acknowledgement.]

A little spent, perhaps. I'm still getting used to the toll that my magic exacts here.

[ Matt smiles in a sympathetic grimace. ]

Ah, yeah, that's a pretty common one for people. [ Not for him, but Matt suspects that has to do with the way magic works for him, or at least how it can work. ] Well, let me know if you want any ... hand-holding, or whatever. Least I can do to thank you for saving my skin.

Oh, hand-holding? How forward of you.

[Lilias chuckles gently, her face lighting up despite the heavy ache in her limbs.]

I'll consider it. In the meantime...

[She crooks a finger, inviting him to step closer.]

Why don't you lend me your arm for a while, and accompany me somewhere we can sit and enjoy ourselves. That is, if you've explored more of this place than just the elevator.

[ Matt laughs, sheepish--though at the same time, he's pleased by the way Lilias' expression brightens. He steps forward in answer to her beckoning finger, arm already lifting. ]

I definitely have. I've been here for months, actually. What are you into, outdoor markets? Subterranean dive bars? Maybe a bioluminescent arboretum? Those should all be, you know ... [ A suspicious narrowing of his eyes. ] In walking distance.

[Lilias takes his arm without hesitation, her grey eyes glinting beneath brows that are now gently raised at the short list of potential places they could go.]

Is there really a bioluminescent arboretum within a walk of here?

[This city really does have everything, doesn’t it?]

I arrived just last month, so I’ve barely had the chance to explore anywhere yet. I’m tempted by all of those places, but— [She pauses briefly, considering.] Let’s go see the plants. I’ve frequented more than enough drinking establishments in the past few weeks already.

[ Matt chuckles. ]

Fair enough. When I first landed here I went to this one dive bar like, multiple times per week, and I could not keep that pace up. [ His expression softens. ] I really like the Night Gardens, though. It's beautiful there. And ... botanically significant, so there's that.

[ He glances skeptically around the bank of elevators, before deciding, ] Let's take the stairs.

[ It's a long way to the ground floor, and it's only there that Matt realizes: ] By the way, did I actually say thank you for saving me? Because thank you.

You're fond of growing things? I haven't been to a garden in a long time.

[Not since she was back home in Magnimar. Lilias lets out a small sigh, surprised that this fact makes her feel a little homesick.

Her mouth thins slightly at the mention of the stairs—all nine flights of them. She'd used magic to skip them on the way up, and only partly because she was in a bit of a hurry. The only reason she'd known enough about elevators to force open the door was because she'd been so impressed with them after her arrival that she'd spent hours on the network, looking up everything she could about their workings. She always avoided taking stairs around other people if she could; being forced to take them so deliberately made her feel like an old woman.

But something about the magic here is harder on her body than she's used to, and besides, it would be even more telling to abandon Matt just to skip the stairs and meet him at the bottom. So she smooths her expression and nods her assent, and tries not to let her limp or her fatigue get the best of her as they make their way to the ground floor. She's leaning harder on Matt's arm by the time they get there, but the pleasure that lights her face when she receives his thanks is genuine.]

Think nothing of it. I would do it again.

[ Matt winces a little as they start down the first flight. He hadn't really thought to ask about mobility issues. On the one hand, the elevators do not seem to be in safe working order to him. And on the other, he supposes he didn't think that somebody who could so easily levitate him over a 9-story drop would be stopped by anything. That was a stupid assumption, he can see in immediate hindsight.

Still, he doesn't say anything about it. Just shifts gently as they go, offering Lilias more of his support. And he takes the stairs pretty slow.

Matt smiles at Lilias' answer when he thanks her. It's what he'd say, he thinks. And the look on her face warms him to see. ]

Cool.

Well, if you haven't been to a garden in a long time, the Night Gardens are a really good place to start. I can't even describe how it all looks ... like being in the ocean and it's full of jellyfish, but they're all flowers. [ Matt takes a moment to glance around, making sure of the way even though he already knows it. Then he leads them north. ] I do like growing things, though--I use a lot of herbs and flowers in my practice.

[What does the ocean look like when it's full of jellyfish? She's never seen a live one, although she has seen some drawings and dried specimens. And obviously dried jellyfish don't look like much. But his description is fanciful enough to make her smile, despite the dull ache in her legs as they emerge from the building.]

I've read that some jellyfish aren't especially safe to touch. Are these flowers the same?

[He did say they were… what was it? Botanically significant? What does that imply, in an alien world full of unfamiliar living things? She supposes she'll have the opportunity to find out.]

Tell me more about your practice. All I know about you is that you can summon light, and you have bad luck with technology.

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