phantasmods: (Default)
Phantasmal Rift Mods ([personal profile] phantasmods) wrote in [community profile] phantasmemes2018-12-07 12:25 am
Entry tags:

TEST DRIVE - BELLMARE MOUNTAINS

Hello and welcome to Phantasmal Rift's Test Drive Meme!

Test drive threads are assumed to be game canon for accepted characters unless otherwise noted, so don't feel like you'll have to introduce yourself a second time to everyone you meet! As an added bonus, participation in the test drive comes with the chance to earn up to two items of loot for your trouble! Characters who are accepted can earn one item for having a top level, and one for tagging out to someone else's top level! Your SWEET LOOT will be included with your acceptance notice.

Additionally, characters currently in game can earn themselves a piece of bonus loot for the dungeon by tagging people's top-levels on the test drive! Existing characters get their bonus loot along with the rest of their loot at the conclusion of the dungeon.

This test drive takes place in the Bellmare Mountain range, a chilly environment even when it's not locked in the dead of winter. Considering that November is just starting to bite - or is it, with the Fissure's time-displacement effect in place? - that makes for an extremely chilly reception for all of the new arrivals. If you're a person at risk of frostbite, you'd better hunker down in one of the scattered mountain cabins or find someone with extra snow gear, and quick.

Once you're a bit more warmed up, exploration of the area will reveal that it's largely abandoned, but there's still some evidence of past human habitation. Old chair lifts stand guard over untouched ski slopes, the remains of what was once a resort, and a handful of hiking paths twist back and forth through the mountain forests, the snow melting off them due to the magical crystals in the gravel that lines the paths.

LET IT SNOW

Chances are that, upon arriving, you find yourself outside in the snowfall. Hopefully you weren't from somewhere too terribly warm, but chances are that unless you were specifically in a cold environment before, you're going to be feeling the chill now. (Unless, of course, you're not human and don't get bothered by the cold. That happens.)

Fortunately, there are plenty of paths scattered around that are warm enough to keep the snow melted off of them - it shouldn't be that hard to stumble across one. The question then becomes, which way to shelter and civilization? You'll have to take a bit of a gamble, but it's almost certainly better than staying where you are and freezing.

LOCKED IN

How fortunate, then, that you were able to find shelter against the cold - at least for the time being. The wooden cabin is the exact opposite of luxury, but there's a bed and wood to make a fire in the fireplace, so you can't ask for terribly much else. Especially once night falls - or when the snow outside begins to fall in more than flurries - it's far better to be outside than in. Even if you can't figure out how to start the fire, the dimly glowing crystals that serve as fire starter will at least keep your hands warm.

Of course, with only a limited amount of shelter to go around in these mountain trails, it's fairly inevitable that you would have to share with someone... Hope they're friendly, otherwise this place is going to get awkward fast.

FROSTY THE - OH, MAN!

And if you're still running around outside, sooner or later you're almost certain to run into a deep patch of snow that rises up to meet you. These giant snowmen, ten feet tall and aggressive, stand up in response to anything that isn't the local wildlife approaching - and their goal is quite simple. Better watch out, because these guys are your own personal avalanche, seeking to bury you under themselves until either the cold or the weight saps the life out of you.

One's dangerous, but it's not uncommon to find them in groups of 3-5, either, which is where things start getting to be a problem. Luckily, it's possible to melt them down to nothing, or just blast them apart with pure force - the scattered snow won't rise again, at least not any time soon.
reforgeries: (04)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-08 04:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes. I found enough in the kitchen to make a basic meal, which I then supplemented with the results of a brief hunt outside.

[The Archer class really is made of archers, after all. And before Archer was Archer, he was no stranger to fending for himself.]

It's simple fare, but it should at least provide enough nourishment to keep a person moving in these conditions. ...Are you hungry?

[He sees your face, child.]
summerbloom: (ss019)

[personal profile] summerbloom 2018-12-08 11:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Uh, maybe a little...

[ "A little" she says, even though she's practically drooling. But then she shakes her head. ]

But if you've been here for a while, you must be even hungrier than me! And cold, too. I've got plenty of food and I ate before I came out here so I really shouldn't be taking anything from you!

[ it very obviously pains her to say this. ]
reforgeries: (35)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-08 11:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Don't worry about me. I made more than enough for one person.

[Because he's a n e r d.]

Where did you come from, then? Not around here, I imagine. There isn't much to be had in these cabins.
summerbloom: (ss016)

[personal profile] summerbloom 2018-12-09 03:47 pm (UTC)(link)
If you're really, really sure then it'd be rude of me to keep saying no. So, thank you! I'd love to try some!

[ Don't mind her if she makes her way into the cabin, peering around with evident interest. Definitely not from around here. ]

I'm actually living at a place a while away from here – it's all the way down on the shore, actually! It's called Keystone Station, but we came up here to investigate some stuff.
reforgeries: art by egmer @pixiv (56)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-09 05:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Investigate? I haven't seen much of interest yet.

[Besides, like, the very interesting fact that he is here, when he super duper shouldn't be? But whatever.]

Unless you're looking into why this place has been abandoned. If so, I think you may be out of luck. Whatever happened here happened long ago, and the trail's likely gone cold since then.
summerbloom: (ss038)

[personal profile] summerbloom 2018-12-13 03:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Actually, the thing we came to investigate is you guys!

[ That sounds kind of ominous, but she says it with a bright enough smile that she... probably means well. ]

We heard some people had appeared here and since it's so cold and out of the way, we just had to come up here and help! Otherwise you'd all be stuck out here in the middle of winter.

[ This is technically true, as that was Sophie's reason for coming along, even if it wasn't anyone else's. Someone was in trouble, so of course she had to come stick her nose in. ]
reforgeries: (45)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-14 07:20 pm (UTC)(link)
...Ah. So I'm lucky enough to have met with the rescue brigade.

[Relieved isn't the word for what he feels.]

And you've ended up wandering around alone how, exactly?
summerbloom: (ss005)

[personal profile] summerbloom 2018-12-16 02:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[ ... shifty eyes... ]

Well, since we're out here searching for people, it seemed like a good idea to, um... t–to cover as much ground as possible!

[ just say you got lost, dumbass ]
reforgeries: (44)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-16 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
So you've already chosen a time and central location to reunite at?

[Better consider a sale, Sophie, because Archer ain't buying your shit.]
summerbloom: (ss019)

[personal profile] summerbloom 2018-12-17 05:10 pm (UTC)(link)
... Yes.

[ She turns an even brighter shade of red than Archer's coat as she says this. Clearly, this is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. ]

Or, well, I know where it is we're meeting, but with everything going on, we didn't decide on a time! That's all.
reforgeries: (03)

[personal profile] reforgeries 2018-12-18 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
I see.

[Have a couple mild words ever sounded so harsh? Judgy Mom Mode: Activate.

Archer sets the stew in front of her and then crosses his arms.]


Once you've eaten, perhaps you should escort me there. Someone has set up camp to receive the newcomers you're so worried about, yes?