Setting
Old Albion is the home of steam-powered contrivances and long-forgotten fashions and morals, a time-locked mirror to Victorian London, populated with a variety of aristocrats, merchants, thieves, tinkerers, engineers, politicians, and other folk of that decayed kidney. It is ruled by the Governor, Jonathan C. Skelecoot, the apathetic dictator who threw out the Parliament of old for clinging to old ideals to focus the cityâs efforts to scientific progress.
The vast majority of Skeletorian technology is powered by Innovatium, the mystical substance rumoured to be the congealed life-essence of the Imagiverse â reality-bending, fantastic, highly unstable.
The doors to the elevator opened, revealing another lobby, but this time, it was decorated with brass-framed sofas and paintings of long forgotten figures and scientists, before they pushed up the daisies. One painting showed a tall, handsome man in a labcoat, the framed labelled "Colonel Peter A. Walter I".
John, along with the disorientated sisters, walked out into the lobby, the other occupants of the room glaring at him, aside from a single skeleton, dressed in a gentleman's attire, complete with a monocle, who spread his/its arms as if to embrace the air. His lower jaw stuck out, given the permanent impression of an angler fish. "Jonathan! Fancy meeting you here! I was just on my way to meet an executive at Miseryville."
The governor, extending his hand, would reply, "Well well well. Henry Brindley. I was on my way to assisting these two ladies in returning to their world."
Shaking the bony gentleman, who was dubbed the name Henry, by the hand, Jonathan would turn to the sister. "This is Henry, a lord from Skeleville. He specialises in diplomacy between places in the Underworld. Henry, this is Valfiel and Elyzia, they come from Grand Gaia, according to them, similar to the Imagiverse."
Henry would turn to the sisters. "Is that so? I rarely hear from people from other worlds, let alone worlds in the Imagiverse, although that's possibly because it happens all the time. Allow me to welcome you to Skeleville, the lost remains of the great Victorian era!"
Valfiel gave a smile back at Elyzia. "So I was funny back there? Well I am glad I can make you smile. But I am also taking that as an insult!" She chuckled as she began to tickle Elyzia causing her to laugh uncontrollably. As John was greeting Henry, the two played around until they stopped after Elyzia tapped out so the tickling can stop.
As the two dusted themselves off, Henry turned to them and welcomed them to Skeleville. "Thank you for greeting us Henry, I am Elyzia. It is my pleasure to meet you." Elyzia gave a small bow. Valfiel smiled and waved at him. "Hello Henry, my names Valfiel! Nice to meet you!" She greeted.
"I almost forgot to mention something. There has been some issues with visitors having some... respiratory issues when entering Skeleville. Due to the lack of requirement of oxygen, we kind of got ahead of ourselves in the industry part in the town, the result causing a nearly toxic atmosphere, which wasn't good for trade. We have developed a solution, involving a few atmosphere converters dotted around the city, turning the acidic gases floating around Skeleville into breathable air. It will take a long while to get the atmosphere to completely safe levels, but as of now the air won't kill you."
At that disconcerting note, he pushed open the doors, revealing a dark city. Buildings surrounded the lobby, which was, from the outside, dressed as a train station. Jonathan was right about one thing; the air had a potent trait to it. The sky, if you could call it that, was eternally a dark yellow, clouds of soot and smoke surrounding the lost city, making it unclear as to whether it was morning, afternoon or any other time. The inhabitants on the town were similar.
There was clearly a form of class system in Skelecoot society. There were the lower class, drunkards and psychopaths, who completely abandoned all morals a long time ago, a few of them giving the sisters a look sheep would encounter before becoming sweaters. There was a middle class, tinkerers and average skeletons, who regarded the duo indifferently. Then there was, in a much smaller quantity, the higher class, aristocrats and gentlemen, who nodded to John and the ladies, a few tipping their hats, bowler and top hat.
There was also, funnily enough, automatons wandering around the area. There were still machines standing on, or more pivoted to, stages, but there were mechanical skeletons, their backs littered with exhaust pipes, some clothed and others bare, revealing the same circular windows seen on the mechanical companions in the Imagiverse Centre. It would seem these shuddering robots were built by the same people, likely the Skelecoots, who built the pets. When a few turned to look at the newcomers, their eyes glowed like searchlights.
John would take a few steps down the stairs to the entrance of the lobby, before a few of the lower class Skelecoots threw things in his general direction, from bottles that smashed on the steps to knifes that just embedded themselves into the stairs. Several cries of "Hey, pooftah, think fast!", ironically coming from corpses with no sense of aim, and "Let me have a go a' 'em two!" were directed at John, the last one, worryingly, however, was directed at the sisters.
"Don't mind them," drawled John. "I get shit thrown at me all the time. Not that it-" A bottle smashes on John's head, but there was little to no effect, simply interrupting his speech. "-- Not that they, apart from that time, hit me." He would then give the assailants a rather questionable hand gesture.
As the two continued to follow John, before they even got off the stairs of the lobby a few of the lower class looking skeletons began to throw things at John such as bottles and knives. Valfiel held her sisters hand, it looked like she was getting into a passive aggressive stance and was prepared to attack anyone that got near her or her sister, she also had this death glare in her eye. "Don't worry sis...If they try anything I will be sure to protect you. You can count on your big sis to help!" She turned back and gave Elyzia a warm smile and she in return gave a meek smile. Of course, they watched as John got hit on a hit by a flying bottle but due to him being undead, it did not affect him in any physical way besides interrupting his speech. "Do the people hate you in some way John? And why are the people so aggressive? I mean....its not normal to have things thrown at you...and its definitely unnerving to be yelled at by others..." Elyzia spoke however her quiet nature began to make itself known as her voice grew quiet with what was going on.
A blue streak comets towards the psychotic skeleton and, when it hits him, forms a glowing aura, completely blotting the corpse apart from it's outline, which warps and twists and, to the horror of some including the sisters, screams. There was a kapow, and the aura exploded into a blue mist, revealing, when it dissipated, a creature you would normally find in a swamp with a diet of flies, but less fleshed out than usual.
John would turn to the crowd, which began to shudder, apart from the veterans, who have seen this happen many times before and, therefore, had an expression of exhaustion.
Instead of the expected lecture, John would simper. "It's amazing what a dollop of Innovatium can do. Now let that be a lesson; anyone who throws something at me's gonna end up like that zounderkite."
He would continue walking down the stairs and through the parting crowd, still getting aggressive if apprehensive looks from the now-slightly-smaller lower class Skelecoots. On his way past, he would walk to the skeletal amphibian and step on it, the poor thing producing a croak and then a crunch.
The Skelecoot community knows that there was, unknown by the sisters, a twisted part in John that took pleasure in other people's displeasure. He was a gentleman when meeting newcomers and, more generally, new people, but, given the circumstances and the mood, he would become the Caligula of the Victorian ghost town they lived in. Because of this, the vast majority of the city was careful around John, letting natural selection sort out the ones who weren't. The veterans would give the duo a look that said "You're gonna have an interesting time around him, unfortunately".
As they walk through the labyrinth of houses, the sisters would notice strange sorts of shops and buildings. Jack's Marvellous Clockwork Companions, Alfred's Entirely Custom Clothes, Teh Alcemist's Potion Stor (Some of the shopkeepers didn't have a proper education in their lifetimes), and all forms of stores littered the streets. Then, when they reached a section which was possibly the market, there were crudely-made stalls, their occupants barking, "git chore teeth whit'ners, med aut of real teeth!" and "Have you been thinking of travelling soon? Well get our newest travel accessory straight out of the Agatean Empire in the Discworld! This chest may look like a chest..." etc. etc. In the middle of the market, there was a pole strewed with signs point in every direction, including up and down. On one sign, pointing to a foreboding mansion on the horizon, read "The Copper Sea Port, Skele-Manor, home to the Governor of Skeleville (Xephire watch over him, so he doesn't kill us)"
They were horrified and surprised, sure the man may have deserved it but they were not sure he deserved that. Maybe that is another reason the people hated him? But this was none of their business right? They were just travelers from another world, they can't complain to the man that is getting them back home...right? I mean they are all undead so it does not matter if you get crushed. You would still be fine.
As the two thought, they would soon walk through some sort or marketplace with shopkeepers speaking in rather broken English and some advertising their products. however they would soon arrive at the center of this rather busy area and saw a sign which pointed in every direction, on one sign it pointed to a mansion on the horizon. Looks like they found out where they were going next however after witnessing what John did the two remained rather quiet.
Oh wait, he thought, I just killed a man in front of them. well not killed, but...
He would turn to the sisters. "Oh, and apologies for that little ordeal back there. If it made you feel better, corpses that come to a state that would disallow them to, well, unlive, they reconstruct in a place in the Underworld called the Well of Souls. It's basically where all the souls reside, like back-up drives for when someone dies a second time. Essentially, we live forever, but being given second, or third, wind allows you to learn by your mistakes, which is often a theme in the Underworld, and become a better person. Hopefully."
He would smile. "Trust me, I wouldn't kill you if I had the Necrostar controlling me. I wouldn't be so disrespectful to newcomers."
On that note, he would turn and walk in the direction of "Skele-Manor", beckoning the sisters to follow him.
"And that little note on that sign," John said conversationally, as they walked, "I laughed when I first saw it. If you're wondering who Xephire is, he's the God of the Underworld, or the Great Undertaker, if you will. He may be a bit slothful, ironically embodying a Deadly Sin, but he tries to keep the tradition of correctional treatment going when he can. Funnily enough, he came up with the name "Skelecoot" for us up the top of his skull."
A bowler-hatted steam golem would tip it's hat via a piston that lifted the hat entirely to John, who would tip his bandana back and continue speaking.
"The business of 'oh, you had a gambling problem, we can fix that' has been going on for millennia, down here. Really, the Underworld was originally a form of correctional facility that was always late to treat the patient, if you know what I mean. People used to have to endure their own private hells, so to speak, but that turned out to be too taxing and expensive, so Xephire put a form of hell for each group instead. There are 666 floors in total in the Underworld, so you can expect a hell for everyone."
They would arrive at an iron gate, behind it a surprisingly lavish garden, decorated with statues of strange creatures, some depicted some of the same races seen in the Centre. The gate itself was made of crooked poles with spikes that would annoy any giant that wished to have a cuppa with the governor. It was littered with strange machinery, obviously the pinnacle of Skelecoot lock technology, a booth situated next to the gate, inhabited with a Skele-Bot with a flat cap.
John would gesture to the android, which would, as of a practice that occurred many times before, pull several levers. Gears and pulleys on the gate would begin to move, a cuckoo clock would sound for no apparently useful reason, then the large lockpad in the middle of the gate would click open. The gate slowly but surely widens it's doors to Jonathan and the butterfly sisters, the former already making his way to his mansion.
As the two continued to follow John, he would soon talk about Xephire the God of the Underworld and how he came up with their name and was also slothful. He also said that there are 666 floors in the underworld. "It sounds like you personally met your own god." Valfiel jokingly laughed as they passed by a steam golem with a bowler hat.
Soon they would arrive at an iron gate and behind it was a nice garden despite the toxic air, statues of strange creatures, and of course the mansion. With a gesture the robot with a flat cap pulled on some levers causing the gate to open up along with the sound of a cuckoo clock? That was certainly odd to say the least. Once the gates opened up the two followed behind John.
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