week six: doors

1. You open the door and find yourself face-to-face with your companion(s), in some sort of arena. You feel that you have an elemental power of some kind at your fingertips - control over fire, water, earth, or air - and that you must use it to take down whoever entered the room with you. You will not be allowed to leave until you have fought with your elemental magic and a clear victor has been established, at which point you will both be free to go. Any injuries you sustain in the fight will remain.

2. You open the door and find yourself... in another one of the hotel's rooms at random. Huh? Why are you here? Weren't you just in a hallway, perhaps on a different floor...? Nothing seems out of place, and as you wander around, you'll find that it is, in fact, just another location within the hotel. You will end up in a different location each time you take this door but are free to simply go about your day after that.

3. You open the door and find yourself within a desert terrain. Stretching for a few miles, the dusty, rocky area is home to geysers, small volcanos, and heat-dwellers such as reptiles, bugs and coyotes. The volcanos are testy, streams of lava running over boulders intermittently and steam vents appear beneath your feet as you explore the area. Tucked away in this region, however, is the largest volcano with a wide arched doorway carved into the front. Entering the room, one will find layers and platforms of stone, as well as streams of lava and firepits. Try not to make the volcano explode though. You will have to thoroughly explore this region to find a door back to the hotel. Any injuries you sustain here will remain.

4. You open the door and find yourself blinking up at the sky. There are dirt walls around you - you're in a shallowly-dug grave, out in the cemetery. You don't remember how you got here, but at least you haven't been locked in a coffin or buried. You are free to get out of the grave and go about your day after that.

5. You open the door and feel the salty breeze before you come upon a sandy beach. With the ocean gently lapping at the shore, this little slice of paradise is home to large waves and little tide pools. The water's just a little on the chilly side but clear enough to swim in and see the fish, sea turtles, and sharks below. On occasion the tide comes in, great waves drowning everything in their path but it never quite touches the path. Standing on the beach is a towering stone and sand castle, the wooden drawbridge down and inviting visitors in. Inside, one will find rivers and tide pools flowing past floating platforms. The temperature inside the castle will increase or decrease with the tide. You will have to thoroughly explore this region to find a door back to the hotel. Any injuries you sustain here will remain.

6. You open the door and find yourself outside, a mansion looming in the distance. No matter how you try to approach it, no matter how long you spend walking forward, you never get any closer. It stays there on the horizon, just out of reach. Only when you realize the futility of trying to reach the mansion and give up will you escape - and once you do, the next time you blink, you will find yourself back in the hotel's lobby.

7. You open the door and find yourself walking along a pathway grows darker as the rocks overhead begin to close in. Forming pathways and overhangs, the dirt in this terrain is only second to the vines and moss hanging from the cliffs around you. Forest animals can be found in this region ranging from chipmunks to bears, and while they tend to stick to themselves some of them aren't as friendly with newcomers. At the heart of this region a monstrous cave can be found. Lit by torches that never seem to go out, rocks of all shapes and sizes are found here with crystals sprouting from floor and ceiling. The cave opens up to multiple tunnels and the structure itself cannot be moved no matter how hard you fight. You will have to thoroughly explore this region to find a door back to the hotel. Any injuries you sustain here will remain.

8. You open the door and find yourself in a dark room lit only by a dim green lantern. It appears to be some sort small enclosed room, with stairs leading up to a door - but the door is firmly locked. On the other side of it, you can hear voices that are familiar to you. Some sound like the guests who have died here; others sound like the living guests, or your hostages, or people you care about from your homeworld. They never seem to hear you matter how you pound on the door or shout. Eventually, once you accept that no one will come to help you, you will find yourself back in the hallway outside the door you walked through.

9. You open the door and find yourself along an incline that rises higher and higher as you venture toward the mountains, walking upward and disappearing into the trees. The branches are steady beneath you and provide footholds to hoist yourself up with each step. These trees make for decent stepping stones to enter into the clouds where the air is fresh and a sharp wind blows continually. Looking back, you feel as though you ought to be able to see something from angle but the flurry of leaves and mist will distract you. The rumble of thunder can be heard from this high, and as the trees cluster together and you approach the mountains you'll come across a flat ravine between two peaks. A perfect funnel for gusts of air, this arena is often shrouded in clouds and provides its fighters with the element of surprise. You will have to thoroughly explore this region to find a door back to the hotel. Any injuries you sustain here will remain.

10. You open the door and find yourself staring out into a starry sky. In the distance, there is a black hole - ever-expanding. You feel yourself drawn to it, and the yawning shadows of it pull you in, swallowing you up no matter how you might try to escape. Inside it, you feel as though you are being torn into a million pieces, and your life flashes before your eyes. Before you can pass out, though, you will hear your hostage's voice, calling to you for help. Then everything goes black, and you find yourself waking in your bed in your room, as if you have just begun the day.