phantasmods: (Default)
Phantasmal Rift Mods ([personal profile] phantasmods) wrote in [community profile] phantasmemes2018-07-12 11:56 pm
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TEST DRIVE 005

Hello and welcome to the fifth test drive for Phantasmal Rift!

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 time, the Test Drive takes place in Incendia - a less-ruined-than-expected city that has been abandoned for over a century, due to the magical effects of the Fissure (unstable reality region) that have made it impossible to live in. What effects are these, you ask?

Well...

BY DAY

By day, the city is lovely, if oddly empty. The sun shines down, and magical lights along the sidewalk - the equivalent of power lines - flow energy throughout the city. It's possible to think that the little sparks you sometimes see at the corner of your vision are related. After all, there's a great deal of magic in the air...

But in spite of this, the city lies abandoned, for no immediately apparent reason. You might have found yourself in a wide-open shipping yard, where large metal containers levitate about, moving without any help or oversight from human hands. Be careful; these containers changing positions make it easy to get lost for quite a long time, since few of them have much in the way of identifying traits over than color. Didn't you already pass that arrangement of two red ones on top of a blue one before...?

Or perhaps you're in the massive park in the center of town, with its blatantly magical fountain (a half-dome of water just hanging in the air) and the tents of an abandoned festival. Two stages and a long line of street food booths stand empty - surely no one will mind if you use them for something, right?

Or perhaps you're just suddenly on the streets, among stalled-out taxis and cars that go nowhere and lack the familiar smell of gasoline. There's apartments and shops all around, with little gardens spilling out over balconies... Maybe if you go knock on some doors, you'll find people.

Wherever it is you are, surely there's got to be someone around who can tell you what's going on, right...?

BY DUSK

As night falls, rather than dropping the way you might expect, the temperature begins to rise. And then the sparks in the edges of your vision are very much more than simply at the edges of your vision. They catch first on the plants, the papers stuck to the now-lit magical streetlights, the trash cans... And then, increasingly so, on the buildings proper, the shops, the skyscrapers, the cars in the street.

Within half an hour, an inferno is starting to build, and it's clear that there's not going to be anywhere above ground safe from it. But fortunately, there's safety beneath the level of the streets - if you can make your way fast enough to an underground station.

BY NIGHT

In the remains of these subway tunnels, lit mostly by the dim glow of magical energy lines, you're at least safe from the inferno above. Unlike the aboveground parts of the city, however, the tunnels are in an obvious state of disrepair, with broken concrete, rot, and mildew. The stations might have once been clean, but they quite transparently are not now, and the tunnels themselves are as bad or worse.

Thankfully, no trains run anymore, so you're not at risk of being run down on the broken tracks. There's also not any full-on collapses blocking the way, and the tunnels seem well-enough made that there's probably not risk of a cave-in.

Less pleasantly, you aren't the only thing taking shelter in the tunnels from the firestorm above. And the magic of that flame has touched the feral dogs that rove the tunnels, turning them into barking, howling creatures of as much flame as flesh themselves. And then there's the occasional patch of mold, mildew, and slime in the darkest parts of the tunnels, where even the magical circuits have gone out, that moves to douse any light that comes near it...
dralchemist: (this is a bad excuse for a pate)

[personal profile] dralchemist 2018-08-07 12:23 am (UTC)(link)
From what I'm hearing elsewhere [read: in another thread], this is phoenixfire. As in, fire from a phoenix.

So it's probable that a phoenix is controlling the flames somewhere. Now. Considering the abundance and reliance on magitech that I saw earlier, it is more than likely that said phoenix, or possibly phoenices, are acting as arcane generators of some type. Which, cruel. Not cool. But just eliminating the source of the fire might not be the best initial idea.

See? Just needed somebody to bounce ideas off of.
von_uberwolf: (Nobby is the werewolf)

[personal profile] von_uberwolf 2018-08-07 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
[She eyes the kabob for a moment, but doesn't take it.]

Thanks, but no thanks. Do you have any vegetarian skewers?
class_struggle: (Default)

[personal profile] class_struggle 2018-08-07 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
It's named Incendia now, after the wound in reality the flames spill from. I think it was called Resona Aere beforehand, from the news-sheets in the festival square. Not that I have room to talk, when my hometown's named Harmsway and my school's in Allroads City.

Though I appreciate your thinking. It's well worth sampling the essences of the air and the geomansus ley lines scattered around the city - see what we can learn from that -

...I've forgotten myself. Hail and well met. My name is Alex Faris; I, like you, am not from this world.
dralchemist: (headshot)

[personal profile] dralchemist 2018-08-07 12:27 am (UTC)(link)
[Izzy does that thing where she opens her mouth to say something, then pauses and closes it.]

I can make one just for you, but I don't have any ready. Do you want, like... I think there's some faux protein/soy protein kinda thing in here, or just straight grilled veggies?

[She moves back into the "kitchen" space, looking through a cooler she dragged from another stall.] Could do both.
schrodingers_hat: (Hmm)

[personal profile] schrodingers_hat 2018-08-07 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
If they're this powerful, we'll have to be careful. If I can get within a few meters of them, I can probably deal with them, though.
dralchemist: (frantic scribbling)

[personal profile] dralchemist 2018-08-07 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
Ah. Post-hoc renaming. That makes a little bit more sense. Also I am so sorry. "Harmsway", by the gods.

Pleasure to meet you, Alex. I'm Izzy D'Oro. Or "Chef Isabelle D'Oro", but that name probably doesn't actually hold any clout here. So just call me Izzy.

Considering-- ok. Here's what I'm thinking. Big ol' phoenixfirestorm probably means that there's a big ol' phoenix somewhere, right? That's logical. And considering how magitek-heavy the city seems to be, far more than anything I've seen back at home, it follows that said phoenix (or phoenices) are possibly acting as arcane batteries. Which may be leaking containment, thus. Fire.

Thoughts?
dralchemist: (just kidding about the poison)

[personal profile] dralchemist 2018-08-07 12:34 am (UTC)(link)
... is that a "suppression" deal with them or a "beat the shit out of" deal with them? Unless you've got something up your sleeves, punching a phoenix ain't the best idea.
schrodingers_hat: (It is a stand!)

[personal profile] schrodingers_hat 2018-08-07 12:37 am (UTC)(link)
The latter.
dralchemist: (i'm only pretending to listen to you)

[personal profile] dralchemist 2018-08-07 12:38 am (UTC)(link)
Cool. Great.

Lemme know how that goes, then. And if you get close enough not to be fried to a crisp, can you grab a few feathers for me?
von_uberwolf: (All sweetness)

[personal profile] von_uberwolf 2018-08-07 12:39 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks. Some kind of soy thing would probably be good, yes.

[She can pretend it's meat.]

So...do you live here?
dralchemist: (i'm the best chef and you know it)

[personal profile] dralchemist 2018-08-07 12:42 am (UTC)(link)
Alright. Probably got something in here.

[The dragonborn quickly whips up some soy meat substitute as well as peppers, onions, sweet potatoes. A lot of good stuff that ends up on the grill. She's talking while cooking, practiced at this kind of multitasking.]

Haha! Hell no. Just ended up here and started wandering around. But like I said, like hell am I gonna let this go to waste.
slackdragon: (yea no)

Option 1; in tha city

[personal profile] slackdragon 2018-08-07 12:44 am (UTC)(link)
[ During Izzy's exploration of the city, she might come across a girl - teenager, long blond hair, wearing a sleeveless black dress with long (almost up to the shoulders) black gloves. Said girl is walking out a store with like four pillows in a giant plastic bag slung over one shoulder.

She pauses when she sees Izzy. And stares, very rudely. One might notice, with her stare so intense, that her own eyes are an intense gold... and notably draconic. ]


Wow. Somebody who got off worse than I did.
chichisbizzareadventure: (sheer focus)

Out n' About

[personal profile] chichisbizzareadventure 2018-08-07 12:55 am (UTC)(link)
[Chihiro's eyes narrow at the creature at first, and her hand almost strays to her heart - but the guy is taking out a camera and taking pictures rather than gibbering and raising the alarm, so.

At least, it's a denizen of whatever fresh Twilight hellscape this place is. (Though it's certainly the brightest Twilight she's seen.) Some cognitive thing. At best? It's someone who just looks like that here.

So she puts her hands in her pockets and strides over, all 6 feet of slab beef.]


Hey. Can you tell me where this is? Whose place it is, too, if you know. Think I got separated from my friends. Need to ride herd on them, some of them aren't even outta high school.
Edited 2018-08-07 00:59 (UTC)
dralchemist: (what do you mean "unsalted")

[personal profile] dralchemist 2018-08-07 01:08 am (UTC)(link)
[The girl immediately gets Izzy's attention, because she's like the first other living person she's seen her whole time here. The shining eyes give her pause, though. Not what she expected on a human.]

Sorry, what? "Got off worse" in what sense?
class_struggle: (Default)

[personal profile] class_struggle 2018-08-07 01:08 am (UTC)(link)

While it wouldn't surprise me if there used to be phoenixes powering the place, the source of the problem is a planar rift. One that's bleeding much less since ere I arrived - the enchanted machine the Androids and others at base stabilized the center of town.

I'm... not sure how the city got this bad. I... think? That overreliance on enchantments for everything from cosmetics to weapons made the area so saturated in Breath that the world had to exhale. As you've seen.

But I'm hearing this second or third-hand, so do your own scans, make your own judgements.

Grab what you can, make for the center of town. There's a teleportal in an old wizards lab we reclaimed. I can meet you there, or halfway, ere the morning - I'm a fire elementalist, it's less risky for me than most.

dralchemist: (can u not)

[personal profile] dralchemist 2018-08-07 01:09 am (UTC)(link)
[



what]


I, uh. Huh? I have no idea. Less idea than you do. [Her body language is immediately on the offensive, because the other figure is nearly a foot taller than her, and here she is without her normal defensive measures.]
slackdragon: (ur beneath me)

[personal profile] slackdragon 2018-08-07 01:12 am (UTC)(link)
You've got a lot of scales. Blue, too - not a good color. But even though you look a lot like a dragon, it's also kind of a wimpy one?

[ She's just listing off points super casually, like this isn't a particularly strange scenario. ]
dralchemist: (can u not)

[personal profile] dralchemist 2018-08-07 01:15 am (UTC)(link)
[To her benefit, she's at least doing her best to listen. But there's a lot in that info dump that her reply comes delayed by a few more moments.]

O... kay. Ok. So basically what you're telling me is that this place, this... Incendia, runs on different rules than the magic, etcetera, than that of what I'm used to. Cool, great, awesome.

If that portal is stable and leads out of this place, away from apparently a fucking planar rift, then I'll go wherever the hell you want me to go, my dude.
dralchemist: (pog)

[personal profile] dralchemist 2018-08-07 01:16 am (UTC)(link)
I-- yeah. Uh. I was? Born with them. Because I am a dragon. Dragonkin. Dragonborn. Whatever the hell you want to call it.

What's wrong with blue? I like blue. ['scuse the fuck out of you missy]
chichisbizzareadventure: (damn she tol)

[personal profile] chichisbizzareadventure 2018-08-07 01:18 am (UTC)(link)
[yeah.

...Of all the "mahous" she is the WORST at coming off comforting or less than full throttle. Fuck, she wishes Sophie were here instead.]


Easy, kid, [she says, hand up, empty palm showing,] I'm not here to throw down. Not with you, anyway.

What's caught your eye? Or your viewfinder.
Edited 2018-08-07 01:20 (UTC)
dralchemist: (aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA)

[personal profile] dralchemist 2018-08-07 01:20 am (UTC)(link)
[The empty palm makes her recoil again. That's not 'peaceful intent', that's 'about to cast a spell' to her.]

What in the actual fuck are you talking about? Viewfinder? Whose place? You can't just come up to a stranger and talk gibberish at them and expect them to get it!
chichisbizzareadventure: (thinking very fast)

[personal profile] chichisbizzareadventure 2018-08-07 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
Fucking god, okay, let me try again!

[Chihiro backs off - out of range of her favorite spear backs off - hands down palms down, this guy's distress making her distressed.]

Okay. Once more from the top. I saw you taking pictures. That says 'not hostile' and 'pretty lost' to me. I might know how I got here but I don't know where this is, or if it's connected to anyone I know. If I'm wrong, I am comfuckinpletely lost.

Call me Chihiro.
slackdragon: (let me splain a thing smugly)

[personal profile] slackdragon 2018-08-07 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, sure. If you're a dragon, you're definitely the runt of the litter, aren't you?

You're obviously a Host. One with a full mutation, and.... seriously, a tragic one.
Edited 2018-08-07 01:32 (UTC)
von_uberwolf: (At ease)

[personal profile] von_uberwolf 2018-08-07 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
How very civic minded of you.

[AND she was getting a free meal out of it. A small windfall on a VERY strange day.]

Sounds like your morning has gone more or less the same as mine, then. I don't know where we are, but...if nothing else it's certainly cleaner than Ankh-Morpork.
class_struggle: (Default)

[personal profile] class_struggle 2018-08-07 01:36 am (UTC)(link)
[I'm sorry he's such an expository little magic nerd. He does scratch the back of his head and winces, at least.]

The tunnels aren't entirely safe. There's life adapted to the fires there, some of it harmless like the soot cats and some of it very much not so, like the firehounds or the jellies. Can you fight as you are?