The Bank

The Bank is a cold, bureaucratic fortress of paperwork and procedural despair nestled in the heart of Sala City. Though it appears to be just another financial institution, the building itself radiates an oppressive stillness—like a place where optimism goes to die. It's staffed by at least one frog and several clipboards, and serves as both a setting for rejections and a symbol of procedural absurdity.

Overview

• Type: Financial Institution
• First Appearance: Escape from Winter
• Location: Downtown Sala City, next to the Kiosk
• Staff Highlight: The Bank Frog

Atmosphere

• Quiet and Soul-Crushing: The lobby is so silent you can hear your motivation leaving.
• Unwelcoming by Design: The walls are painted a shade of gray specifically designed to discourage small talk.
• Overly Structured: Lines are taped onto the floor in confusing zigzags. Most lead to locked doors labeled "Temporary Processing Overflow Unit – Closed."

Notable Features

• Reception Desk: Manned by The Bank Frog, who delivers policy-based disappointment with clinical precision.
• Customer Waiting Area: Equipped with stiff plastic chairs, a non-functioning ticket machine, and a looped instructional video featuring dated animations and the phrase “as per subsection 14-B” repeated endlessly.
• Loan Office: A locked room. No one has ever seen it open.
• Back Hallways: May or may not be infinite. Some say they lead to the vault, others claim they lead to early retirement.

Banking Services

• Account Management: Mostly account closure management.
• Loan Applications: Available in 27-page formats and “expedited” 22-page formats. Denied regardless.
• Safe Deposit Boxes: Accessible only during “non-temporal hours” or with approval from an unnamed manager who hasn’t been seen since 2007.
• Check Cashing: Checks must be signed in triplicate and accompanied by a ceremonial sigh.

Trivia

• The air conditioning is always set to “passive-aggressive.”
• Has a strict dress code for customers, though it’s never published.
• There’s a pen on a chain at the counter. It does not write.
• A customer once entered with confidence and was never seen again, though their voicemail still replies with “Please hold.”
• The frog at the desk once rejected a transaction for being “philosophically insolvent.”

“Please take a number. And leave your expectations behind.” — The Bank