TEST DRIVE - BELLMARE MOUNTAINS

[phantasmods]

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.

Comments

[demonbloodblade]

Agreed. Very much so. I’ll cover you.

[liveofftheland]

Don't worry. I can handle this.

[She looks around, drawing arrows in one hand, and starts down a snowy path.]

Think it'll lead to civilization?

[demonbloodblade]

I certainly hope so. Or at least shelter. I'd prefer not to be camping if those things came along again.

[liveofftheland]

That's true enough. Snow shelters are fine, but not if they come to life.

[demonbloodblade]

...I was worried about packs of snowmen coming up on a tent. The idea the entire thing might animate, well, that wasn't on my to-worry-about list. Except now it is.

[liveofftheland]

You've never heard of building a shelter out of snow?

[demonbloodblade]

No, I have. It was the "and then it turns into a monster" part that I hadn't considered.

[liveofftheland]

Unfortunately, I have no way of detecting magic to see if a mound of snow is safe. Someone else would, but someone else isn't here right now.

[demonbloodblade]

I don't have that either. All I have is my skills and this sword.

[ She shades her eyes. ]

Cabin over there. Looks like we're almost clear.

[liveofftheland]

I see it! [She moves carefully, but still picks up the pace.] Looks like there aren't as many out there.

[demonbloodblade]

Let's make sure that we don't get caught. [ Meliantha picks up the pace as well looking around. ] Hells of a thing to get this close and then get ambushed.

[liveofftheland]

Don't worry, I was born for this.

[She looks through the trees and sends off an arrow, which pierces a snowman as it starts rising up.]

[demonbloodblade]

[ Meliantha's an expert in the field, and the other girl has a gift for this. ]

Don't get too overconfident, though.

[ She gets to the door, and pushes it open. ] Unlocked, thank small favors. And warm inside.

[liveofftheland]

[Marie follows inside and knocks the snow off her boots.]

That's good. Must mean someone else was in recently.

[demonbloodblade]

Or the deranged wizard who created it as a guesting area keeps them warm in case one of his guests wants to bunk down.

[ Always the optimist. ]

At least it's warm and there's some kitchen facilities here.

[liveofftheland]

Possible, but not a thought I want to entertain. [sigh.] At least we're out of the snow. Marie Cooper. Who would you be?

[demonbloodblade]

Indeed.

Meliantha, no surname I care to claim.

[liveofftheland]

I know how that feels. I just never got to ditching it. I'm... going to assume you're a demon, but you look a little different.

[demonbloodblade]

Part-demon. My grandfather is one.

[ Dryly. ] Apparently it leaves a mark. But I was raised by priests to be ...not that kind of person. And using my grandfather's name runs the risk of him showing up when his name is spoken, , which strikes me as the worst possible kind of family reunion.

[liveofftheland]

Plausible, but a little different than I've heard. Of course, if there's a gap, there's always an explanation. Maybe one I can get without Alice using a smoke bomb at me.

[demonbloodblade]

...does that happen often?

[liveofftheland]

It's a bad habit.

[demonbloodblade]

Yours or hers?

Never mind. Let me see if I can get some soup or stew together.

[liveofftheland]

[Marie starts rooting in the cupboards.] Looks like they've got a few things, so we might not have to go out hunting yet.

[demonbloodblade]

And I have some ham and smoked meat, so that can help too.

[ She takes off her backpack and rummages in it. ] And beer, and wine, and nuts, and ...I'd forgotten the bread. Good thing this thing is magic.