📖 INBOX: hotel caelum

[animated]

charlie 📖

bookwizard

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ABOUT ME

he/him 🏳️‍🌈 bookstore owner 📖 wizard 🧙‍♂️ decent with technology 📱 hit me up if you need a hand!

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BIRTHDAY DIRECTORY QR CODE

NAME: Charlie Maxwell BIRTHDAY: June 21st FAV CAKE FLAVOR: Strawberry WHAT THEY WANT MOST FOR THEIR BIRTHDAY: To go dancing! Someone sweep me off my feet already!

Comments

[animated]

[ Kanji’s message over the network might have gotten Charlie a little motivated to start looking for supplies (and minis) for painting. At least he already knew where to find the paints, having been down to the third floor once already.

He’s busy rifling through a disorganized bin of paintbrushes when a familiar-sounding voice addresses him. The wizard straightens, turning with a grin.

… Jeez. Even the spider guy is tall. ]

Hey there! You probably don’t recognize me without all the feathers, huh?

[vecna]

[Henry's brows hike up in recognition. Oh, it's-]

Charlie?

[And Charlie's another blond twink. Go figure.]

You definitely look different than the last time I saw you. But I guess I do, too; a lot less eyes and legs. So what are you doing in here?

[animated]

[ Hotel Caelum’s biggest import is apparently blond twinks. ]

Yeah, we’re both definitely more human-shaped.

[ A laugh. ]

I’m after some supplies for painting minis. Like, really fine tip brushes and stuff.

[vecna]

We are.

[He has no remark to make on whether being human-shaped is better than spider-shaped, and instead walks in to eye the bin that Charlie's fossicking around in.]

Fine tip brushes... You won't find them in there. I can grab a few for you, but what kind of "minis" do you mean?

[mini what]

[animated]

Guess I should have consulted an expert to begin with! Thanks for the help.

[ He’ll leave the bin, then, ready to follow Henry to wherever might have what he needs. ]

They’re like little figurines. [ He holds up his hand, thumb and forefinger poised at about regular D&D mini size. Definitely no bigger than a couple of inches. ] I use them for game nights at my bookstore.

[vecna]

[He won’t have to follow far. On the other side of the studio, where a few oil paintings in-progress line the wall, propped-up, there’s a neighboring sink where everyone can clean up after themselves. Henry finds a few brushes left on towels to dry, and he waves a hand, and they lift and rotate, sorting through.]

Figurines? [Huh. Does this sound familiar? Nah, probably not.

Eventually, a set of fine-tipped brushes floats forward, hovering in front of Charlie so he can take them. There you go, buddy.]

What kind of games?

[animated]

[ Charlie watches the display with nothing short of awe and delight. Sure, it’s not flashy, but it is really cool knowing that Henry’s doing all this with his brain. No spellcasting required. ]

Man, normally I’m the one floating things at other people. Weird to be on the other end of it for a change.

[ He reaches out to take the brushes with a laugh. ]

Are you familiar with D&D? Dungeons and Dragons, I mean. It doesn’t exist everywhere so I’m never really sure who knows what.

[ (lol.) ]

[vecna]

[Lol, indeed. He was going to remark about the similarity of their abilities, but now something in him stills, the smile he's still wearing twitching a little at one corner.]

Oh, yes. I've heard of it.

[Feelings on the matter are Complicated these days. That game still reminds him of certain people from home in the worst ways possible; and yet here, in the hotel, that game-world is not so much a game-world as it is the home of someone he's rather attached to, as well. Henry doesn't exactly know how to resolve these two things in his head quite yet.]

It definitely exists in my world. [boy does it] But for some guests, it does more than just exist as a game. Some actually hail from... what is it? Faerûn?

[the way he knows way more about dnd now than he ever thought he would, help]

[animated]

[ Charlie has no way of knowing how complicated Henry's feelings even are, so he just lights right up when he mentions that D&D IS REAL!! ]

Yeah, I know! I met someone here from Waterdeep, actually. That's so cool!

[vecna]

[HOW NICE IT IS TO HAVE UNCOMPLICATED FEELINGS ABOUT A TABLETOP GAME--]

My neighbor's from Waterdeep, actually.

[He vaguely knows that there's another Waterdhavian floating around out there, but who cares about him. Anyway-]

So, what? Are you planning on running a few games here in the hotel...?

[animated]

I’m not sure I want to go poking holes in people’s reality with a silly game. It’d be a little weird learning your whole existence is a fairytale in another, right?

[ At least one of the resident D&Ds would be fine with that, but Charlie doesn’t know that for sure. ]

I just wanna add to my personal stash of minis for now.

[vecna]

[Henry affects at shrugging a shoulder.]

It might have been a surprise at first, but she seems to have accepted it as a multiversal... quirk, now. Not that I'd suggest you do something you're not comfortable with.

[It's safe to assume he means the neighbor he's mentioned; and that he might have had this discussion with her once before.]

So what kind of "minis" are you painting now? Monsters? Characters? [He can't help but be morbidly curious.]

[animated]

She...? I think we're talking about two different people.

[ Because Charlie definitely chatted with a dude. Still a wizard! But a dude wizard. ]

You wanna see? I've gotta head back up to my room anyway.

[vecna]

Oh. Well, too many wizards in one hotel. [He chuckles.] In that case, I'll introduce you someday.

[Signing up Sprezzatura to an introduction without even asking? Yes.

For now-]

...Sure. Why not? If you don't mind the company, my painting can wait for now.

[He hates that he is direly curious, but here he is anyway. Yes, show him your nerd stuff, sir.]

[animated]

Hey, I’m one of those wizards, you know!

[ There are a lot of wizards here, though, aren’t there? He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t extremely curious to know what they’re all capable of. ]

I wouldn’t have offered if I minded. It’s just one floor so we can take the stairs.

[ Are you ready for some cardio, Henry? ]

[vecna]

[Henry clasps his hands behind his back.

He is never ready for cardio.

But he can manage one floor. Probably. So off they go, following as soon as Charlie takes the lead.]

Oh, don't take it the wrong way. I think it's amazing there are so many people here who can cast magic.

[animated]

[ TO THE STAIRS. Charlie’s not the sort of gym bro to turn a little stroll into an exercise, so they can take it at a leisurely pace. ]

You really don’t have magic where you’re from, huh?

[vecna]

[Henry can be grateful for that, at least. Taking it at a leisurely pace will mean that he can manage it without issue; he's not that noodly and out of shape.]

Not at all. That's the stuff of fantasy.

[But he nearly shrugs.]

...Unless there's something I don't know, which there very well may be. It's not like the existence of psychic powers is common knowledge in my world, either.

[Or hellscape alternate dimensions, goo monsters, etc.]

[animated]

Ah. We keep magic and the supernatural a secret where I come from. So it’s possible it exists where you’re from, too, and you were just unlucky not to know anyone else with powers.

[ Which, if he knew anything about Henry’s history, would really be the injustice cherry on top of the cake of injustices. ]

[vecna]

[Yeah, that's. That makes him actually laugh in a way that's a little sharper than his usual intonations.]

Wouldn't that be something. That really would be unlucky.

[animated]

[ Ah, he can tell he touched a nerve. ]

Well, you're here now, so you can experience all sorts of things.

[vecna]

[He can, that's true. But this place has always been a kind of faux-freedom, anyway, and that will be a shadow hanging above his head for a while yet.

But there's no need to get into that with someone he barely knows.]

That's right. And every floor seems like its own little adventure. I think I like the outdoor ones the best so far.

[Except the beach floor. That's too hot.]