TEST DRIVE 006

[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 Telovia Mines, an extremely abandoned magical crystal mine and the town and infrastructure that one supported it. The tunnels are in reasonably good condition and would be reasonably navigable... Except for one thing.

ONE MINOR THING

The magical effects of the Fissure cause those within it to lose something when they arrive - for most people, it's a sense such as touch or hearing, but it's also possible to lose a more esoteric sense (such as your sense of balance or temperature, but NOT things like "sense of morals" or "sense of style"), the ability to speak, or the ability to recognize faces. As a general guideline, whatever characters lose should be non-supernatural in nature, and something they would have taken for granted as a part of their ability to function.

ODDS AND ENDS

Just because the mines are empty of people doesn't mean that they've gone still. While for the most part, the carts full of crystals remain in one place, the huge amount of magic has left more than a few of the miners' abandoned tools still going through their motions. Rusted pickaxes swing at the walls, and dead lanterns swing from the ceiling. Crystals occasionally free themselves from shards of rock to pile into bins, which then empty into already-overflowing mine carts.

As long as you leave them to their jobs, everything will be fine. If you try to stop the tools (and it is the tools themselves, for anyone who might be looking for ghosts) from doing their jobs, they'll chase you down until you leave their general vicinity.

Of course, the eternally working tools don't care much about the structural integrity of the mine tunnels...

THEY ALL PILE UP

...And so, inevitably, there are cave-ins.

Most of them are fairly minor, and you can see them (well, if you can see) enough to just work around them. Some of them are big enough that you're going to have to dig through them first, if you can.

And then there's the handful that block passages entirely. But don't panic! The tunnels are designed around the possibility of this happening - rather than coming to an end, the majority of them loop back around to the main arteries of the mine.

E... ventually...

But you and whoever is stuck with you on this side of the cave-in might be wandering for quite a while before you get there. Hopefully one of you still has a sense of direction, assuming either of you ever had one in the first place.

Comments

[bloodyashes]

"Makes sense. I didn't have much of a choice, either." Are we talking about the tragic backstory? No, not today. "If they're hiring, though, I think I'll pass."

He's also already had more than enough of people telling him what to do when they aren't even upfront with their motives. "Has anyone told you what this world's like, then?"

[seekingsunrise]

"Trust me, that's a good idea." Working for the enemy, trying to choose the lesser of two evils, so on and so forth.

"I've heard a bit... dimensional tears, something about stabilization fields." He blinks hard, gingerly touches the back of his head again. Maybe he hit his head harder than he thought.

[bloodyashes]

"Yeah, everyone's stuck here until the androids native to this place or somebody figures out a way to close the Fissures and send us back." So, you know, enjoy your impromptu, extended shore leave. "It's been a couple months since people started showing up. Sometimes they disappear again, but otherwise you're stuck here with the rest of us."

[seekingsunrise]

He nods along, considering this information.

"Depending on how I was drawn here from my previous location that might be more likely than you think." The disappearing again part of it. He's not sure what happened to get him here, possibly it's less likely if it was accidental.

But then why would the Foundation send a rescue team after a D-class agent? An exploration team, maybe, but rescue?

Not unless Nine and Ren can convince the others... and after everything with Lance would...

Would anyone even care to?

[bloodyashes]

"Apparently the hypothesis is that people get sent back to whatever time they were pulled from, so at least you don't have that to worry about." From Asch's tone, it's not something that's particularly on his mind, which might raise a few eyebrows.

He finally bends and retrieves his sword, making his movements very obvious, and immediately returns it to its sheath.

[seekingsunrise]

No eyebrows raised here. There are people Talcott wants to get back to, sure, but there's no great desire for him to return to Michigan or the Foundation.

"That's a nice blade." If nothing else he can appreciate that it is well maintained, and after seeing the ridiculously plain weapons most of the other campers had it was kind of refreshing to see someone with a decent blade. "I don't suppose you've heard of Culless have you?"

If universe hopping was something they were both familiar with then maybe?

[bloodyashes]

Asch shakes his head immediately. "Not that I can ever remember." He adjusts the weight of the sheathed sword. "I wouldn't mind replacing this, actually, but it's what I had on-hand both here and at the other place I was in, and it's what I'm familiar with."

No real need to change, but there's still a bit of tension in him as he talks about it.

[seekingsunrise]

It's too bad all he has on him are throwing knives, something small and ultimately disposable. Not at all like the beauty of the pieces that could be found in Lucis. Even if Ren were here he could show off the kukri Talcott had gotten him before he died.

"I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to find another long sword." Somewhere in the varied worlds it sounds like cross in and out of this place. "Is there something wrong with it?"

[bloodyashes]

Asch closes his eyes briefly. "Bad memories."

He's not going to elaborate, but Talcott might notice his free hand, the right, almost reaches towards his chest, an aborted gesture of something.

"I was considering changing styles anyway," he says instead.

[seekingsunrise]

Ah... he's stepped on something delicate. Talcott nods, lets the subject fall away with those two words. He won't press.

"Styles, hmm?" Thoughtful, as he appraises the redhead, the spines in his hair, short stature and slender build. "You could always try daggers, you look like you'd be rather fast and agile. I could help with that if you'd be interested. Throwing knives are my specialty but I've learned to work with daggers a fair bit from Ignis and Ren."

[bloodyashes]

"I'm actually much stronger than I am fast." It's a bit amused. He's grateful for the change of subject, too. "I had to do a bit of everything, but if we're talking about the same Ignis, he's a lot faster than I am."

He's met two Ignises already, why not a third somewhere out there in the universe?

[seekingsunrise]

Strength over speed. Hmm, maybe sword and shield then? But he wants to discontinue the sword so-

"You... know Ignis?!" Wide eyed and hopeful and it really is problematic how much his hardened soldier demeanor vanishes at the mention of someone from home, his family. Clearly if Asch knows Ignis then he can't be bad.

[bloodyashes]

"Blind, knows his way around a knife both in the kitchen and out of it, never learned to turn the mother hen off for the ten minutes it takes to take care of himself?" While the latter might sound like a complaint, Asch's voice is probably the warmest it's been all conversation. "Yeah, I was friends with the one on the islands, and I'm on pretty good terms with the one here."

There are so many Ignises in the multiverse, Talcott.

[seekingsunrise]

Okay Talcott can't even fathom multiple Ignises, though he's sure there are plenty. Well, obviously, there has to be at least two because of Verse 2.

"Yeah. He's-" He's what exactly? it was much more difficult to define than Sol had made it and he actually blushes a little as he remembers the times he'd referred to Ignis as his Brother-In-Law and the horrific moment he'd discovered what doujinshi was.

Things you can't unsee.

"He's kind of family. It's mostly just been the two of us working together for years now. Until recently, that is."

[bloodyashes]

"Yeah, I get it." He can't say he knows the feeling, because things are still... strange, for him to think of much of anyone as family. "Good, I'm glad that there's someone else to keep an eye on him. Apparently there was at least some version of Noctis here until about the time I arrived... I'm sure he's putting on a show to hide what it's doing to him, but it's not like I'm close enough to this Ignis to say anything."

The multiverse is hard like that, sometimes.

[seekingsunrise]

Oh... oh no.

"His majesty was here?" And he can't hide how hopeful he sounds at that. Noctis was probably the last person he should talk to now, though, knowing all that he does. "He'll be alright without Noctis. He has been for years now. It's... easier knowing he'll come back to us, eventually."

[bloodyashes]

"Was. I know there's still Prompto for Ignis to lean on - I think they're rooming together - but, well." Under all of these layers, Asch is, just maybe, a little fussy about the handful of people he calls friends. "But knowing what's going to happen - I don't think him coming back eventually makes it any easier."

Not when it's only coming back to die. That's just Asch's opinion, colored by his own experiences (Luke, dragging him before their parents, and Asch is still both grateful and resentful of it).

[seekingsunrise]

That surprises him.

"You know what's going to happen?" What version of knowing, though? Did Ignis tell him or had he found out some other way? "Ignis always kept that information pretty close. I'm surprised he'd have shared."

[bloodyashes]

"It's not Ignis I found out from." There's a bit of obvious careful hedging there. Asch is trying, but subtle doesn't come particularly naturally to him. Let's talk about something else. "But there were a couple times on the islands when we didn't have much of a choice about what we shared - one time everyone saw each other's memories. Usually the worst ones."

[seekingsunrise]

"It's never a good thing when people get to see each others memories." Ever.

Akechi, Dan, Sol, none of the memories they'd learned from had been good. Useful maybe, necessary, but not a good thing.

But he's not going to press on where Asch got that information. There's too many similar questions he can't answer himself.

[bloodyashes]

"I can't argue with that." Nope, it was not a good experience all around.

[seekingsunrise]

At least there was nothing in the memories of his... uh castmates? that would surprise him any more. Not that he watched a full LP but he knows most of it.

"Was that something that was common on these Islands? Toying with your memories or... I suppose your mind in general?"

[bloodyashes]

"...Yeah, kind of."

How to start to explain... "The god that... well they claimed they weren't responsible for us being there, but I call bullshit, was called the Storyteller. And it was a pretty damn literal name - everything that happened was probably for the purpose of creating stories for people to tell, because that's how they got more power."

[seekingsunrise]

"A deity whose power grows with stories?" Oh boy. That sounded like an SCP that needed to be addressed and fast. "I suppose stories are better than needing to take people's lives, at least."

[bloodyashes]

"They claimed to either have nothing to do with or to have just made a mistake with all the stuff that happened, but that's a stretch after the third or fourth time."

And who knows what's happened on the islands since he vanished from them.