Suspicious rabbit hole @Rosalie Browne @Dempsey Fabijain | Page 3

Rosalie was glad to see the rabbit in high spirits, though he seemed to be a bit too happy, even for the situation. Goddesses, seriously? And then suddenly the whole situation went from Alice in Wonderland to... Kirby. "I... guess he likes them," Rosalie said as the rabbit finished his meal. And then, just like that, he was asleep, and the game was instructing them to go through the door. Dempsey was taking the lead.

"Right, let's do it," she said, poking through her menus and equipping her pitchfork. "He didn't actually keep up his end of the deal by telling us what it was... so we've got to find out ourselves." She would proceed to follow Dempsey through the door whenever she was ready to do so.

@Hecatus

 

The doorknob turns easily. As the two of you proceed through the open thresh hold, a straight sight lies before you. All that exists is a long stone corridor paved with checkered tiled flooring. It stretches on for a good several hundred feet. Near the end of the hall rests a large wooden oak door that bars your bath. It radiates a strong aura of magic and seems well designed and fairly intricate. Various depictions are shown on the door thanks to the skilled handiwork of an illustrious woodworker.

The depictions primarily focus on a great figure in a wizard hat. Upon closer inspection the figure of mention oddly resembles a humanoid cat (more cat like than human when compared to Felis) standing on an elevated platform. It holds a whip in one hand and a stalk of catnip in the other. Below it are countless numbers of smaller woodland creatures such as mice, rabbit, squirrels and other smaller animals. They all appear to be cowering in fear, fleeing for their lives, or shackled to various machines and mechanisms designed for labor or torture.

Even higher, above the elevated cat wizard, appears to be a dome ceiling with an oculus at the apex. At this apex a large, uncannily lifelike, three dimensional carving of a rabbit head protrudes from the door’s frame. It appears to be a door handle of some sorts as a large bronze ring hangs from its maw.

@Dempsey Fabijain @Rosalie Browne

 

(Omg Duh... )

Dempsey strolled into the next room cautiously, and had a quick look around, but seeing nothing of interest, she shrugged and simply approached the door on the far end of the hallway, taking a moment to inspect it closely before turning to her partner and giving a questioning shrug.

"I can't think of anything else to do but try and go through, but this looks extraordinarily sketchy to me. do you have any thoughts, or do you just want to go on ahead and go through?"

She looked behind the two of them for a bit and shook her head.

"I mean, do you want to go have a look at the walls and ceiling just in case, or maybe you have some thoughts?"

 

Though perhaps the cat woman’s words were directed at her companion, a third voice came into play. “Why in fact, yes I do have some thoughts on the matter. You two are dreadfully boring!” A thick southern accent echoed through the hall. It’s source? It was the strangely lifelike door knob that had sprung to life and begun animating. Bronze ring still clenched firmly between its maw, it somehow had managed to utter out these unexpected words for the two to listen in on.

“Sheesh! I’m gonna die of boredom here already. I told that fat one to only send me funny people! How you two got by is beyond me.” The face continues to stare expectantly as if waiting for something. It appears as though the quest objectives have been altered as a soft ring sounds in your minds. As strange as the update seems, the interface remains stead fast in its terms and does not further amend itself.

The Suspicious Rabbit Hole: (Quest Objectives Updated!)
[ ] - Make the door laugh.​

@Dempsey Fabijain
@Rosalie Browne

 

With nothing else of note in the hall, Rosalie's eyes were drawn to the wooden door. The scene it depicted was strange indeed- she wondered if it depicted the world on its opposite side. A world of animals, which a cat wizard ruled with an iron paw? Weird.

Dempsey didn't seem to have any better ideas of what to do. Looking for secrets like this was some old first-person shooter would be one thing, but...

Before Rosalie could say anything, the door spoke, offering its challenge. She wondered what it meant by "the fat one". Was the rabbit who guarded the door once very fat, before starving to his present state after being stuck here for so long? Considering how he ate, she could believe it. In any case, they now had a new goal- make the door laugh.

"...how are we going to do this?" Rosalie asked. "There isn't a 'comedy' mastery. I have music, so I guess I could sing a funny song?" The question was, what could she sing that the door would find funny?

@Dempsey Fabijain @Hecatus

 

Dempsey paces the length of the hall a few times. 'Of course there's a talking door' she mused to herself. How do you make a door laugh? It seemed to imply that the pair should come up with a good joke to tell it, but she didn't really know where to go from there. She runs her fingers through her hair thoughtfully, then turns to face Rosalie as she spoke.

"i mean, if you think it'll work, it's worth a go obviously, but I have an idea too. If a funny song doesn't do the trick..."

She scratched the back of her neck with an awkward expression, somewhat in disbelief of how stupid what she was about to say was going to sound when spoken out loud.

"You have to promise me you're going to take this seriously. I doubt we're going to be able to break the door down, so we need to do what it wants. There's only one thing I can think of that might work. If it doesn't like your song, How about a knock-knock joke? Know any good ones?"

she stood there offering a sort of 'it's worth a shot' expression, genuinely hoping that Rosalie can come up with something else if her plan fails.

@Hecatus

 

The door simply looks on quietly as the two of you discuss. It's patiently awaiting your decision.

@Rosalie Browne @Dempsey Fabijain

 

"Well, I've got to admit, I can't think of any funny songs off the top of my head," Rosalie said with a sheepish look. "At least not any that'd be funny here. So, knock-knock jokes it is. Hmm... how about this? Knock-knock," she added, thinking a bit before beginning the joke.

 

The door resumes animation and stares at Rosalie skeptically. "Going with an old fashion format huh? We'll let's hear it! Just to warn ya though, I've heard quite a few knock-knock jokes in my day!" He nods once eagerly before calming down and following the script.

"Who's there?"

@Rosalie Browne @Dempsey Fabijain

(Please tell the whole joke btw! Just assume the door plays along! You can both make an attempt before I'll respond again.)

 

Dempsey pauses for a moment, lost in thought. Jokes weren't really her things, but she'd heard a few good ones in her time. She decided to stick with the door theme, wondering if pandering to the tastes of a door would be effective.

she cleared her throat and spoke up.

"Knock Knock!"

The door responded with an exasperated "Jeez, OK. Who’s there?"

Dempsey went all in now, doing her best to sell the joke. "Madam!"

The door played along patiently, possibly annoyed at the worn out trope of knock knock jokes. "Madam who?"

Dempsey paused for effect, then delivered the punch line. "Madam foot is caught in the door!"

She waited expectantly, hoping that her joke was good enough to garner the animated doors favor, and pondering whether or not the meddlesome door could just be kicked down, or maybe even bribed. It seems to have worked for the last obstacle presented to the pair, and she was eager to make progress.

 

"A farmer," Rosalie replied, though with a bit of surprise at the response coming from the door itself, rather than Dempsey.

"A farmer who?"

Rosalie gave a thoughtful look in the door's direction for a while, before answering.

"...This is a farmer difficult task than I thought," she concluded, before breaking out into a cheesy grin.

@Dempsey Fabijain @Hecatus

 

Upon hearing Dempsy’s initial joke, the door simply stares with a deadpan expression while eying her curiously. “Well that’s not funny?... The door’s closed. How can yer damn foot be stuck?” Though the voice clearly had understood the contents of the joke, it seemed less than amused. Perhaps it was a bit sore at the fact that it was a door itself? A self-conscious door… it was a strange though, but given the nature of this place to begin with, it was very likely possible.

As for Rosalie’s jest, it’d nod approvingly once at the clever pun. “Not bad kiddo. You got some spunk in ya. Not exactly laughing material though, maybe a smirk at best. A punchline’s gotta plow real hard into the dirt if ya wanna bear any fruit, ya get what I mean?” A soft groan was given as the door mocked itself for giving in to her game of word play.

Though the attempt was decent, perhaps a funnier joke would suffice? It seemed as though this particular door had already heard these lines before…


@Rosalie Browne @Dempsey Fabijain

 

Dempsey paced in a small circle, wracking her brain for a good joke. Who the hell even tells jokes anymore. this day and age it was all about the pithy one liner! She ran her fingers through her hair and leaned against the cold stone wall, completely at a loss for what to say next, then inspiration struck...

"OK, how about this one? How do you make a tissue dance?"

She paused again, hoping she'd have more luck this time.

"You put a little boogie in it!"

 

"Do they even have tissues here?" Rosalie asked. "Or the concept of... 'boogie'?" Both of those things seemed like they'd be out of place in a medieval-like world like this one.

Thinking for a bit, she decided to try a different idea. "...All we have to do is make the door laugh, right? Maybe it doesn't have to be through telling a joke." Approaching the door, she scrutinized it up and down, then proceeded to tickle the door, concentrating primarily on the rabbit-head's neck but also other parts, mostly including the figure of the cat wizard.

 

The door stared with a perplexed expression as it listened to Dempsey’s poor attempt at a joke. It was hard to tell whether the rabbit head had comprehended the punchline or not due to its stoic gaze. One thing was sure however, it hadn’t been able to find whatever humor the cat woman had in those words. “Was that supposed to be a joke? Sheesh, if I didn’t know any better I woulda thought that your kind had no funny bones in ‘em.” The face twitched its little rabbit nose as a frown formed and it shook its head slowly.

A look of concern would quickly form as the insults grinded to a halt however. “Whoa, whoa what are you---“ The door let out an indignant cry as Rosalie had moved forward and begun violating its personal space with her fingers. “Oooh… that feels kinda nice. Yeah, scratch there a little more.” An ear twitched pleasantly as the head relaxed a bit and voiced approval. His tranquil state wouldn’t last long however as the continual prodding would result in a sneeze. “AAHHH-CHOOO!!!”

Without warning, a small object flew out from the hare’s nose and smacked directly into the woman’s clothes. “Ahaha, you’ve got a boogie on you! Bahah---shit.” Realizing its own mistake, the creature cursed once before the door slid open without any further delay. In the corner of your interface, the coin counter seems to of gone up by two, totaling to six now.

Upon the blockade removing itself, you find yet another door five feet behind the prior one. This one seems much less elaborate in nature. The door itself is entirely blank and without any openings or handles to fidget with. Centered on the door itself rest a series of letters forming the following rows. From the looks of it, each letter appears to be a button that can be pressed inwards.

M O V E
E P I C
B O N E
S W A N​

@Rosalie Browne @Dempsey Fabijain