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

[bastilashan]

Can you tell me more about Horologium? How is it different from Corvus?

Battle Meditation is not just encouraging my friends really well. It gives strength and stamina and luck [hit points and saving rolls] to my allies. Does that make more sense?

[We are still not out, but we have stopped going upward. She can sense the change, and it distracts her.] Did we just reach level ground? What do you see?

[nocawsforconcern]

It's, um... It's more techy than Corvus. There's lots of pendulums, and everything is really precise... It's, caw, sorta, cawww...

[she's kind of waving her hands around. It's hard to describe a clockwork setting for her.]

I see... Um, I see light? Ahead. We're almost there.

[bastilashan]

More technology, and clocks? Okay. So, besides affecting time, can you do anything else? [This woman is quite interesting.]

So, you are not from here either. I wonder if there are any others who were brought here.

[nocawsforconcern]

Um, hm, well. It's complicated? Complicated. Cawmplicated.

[enna, no.]

Probably. Lots! I hope my crew is here too.

[bastilashan]

What do you mean complicated? [She ignores the pun, despite the fact that it is a really good one.]

I am not sure if I hope my crew is here or not. If they are here, then I would know that they are okay and I would have help. If they are not here, then they must be carrying on with the mission. Though, how will they succeed without my help?

[nocawsforconcern]

I mean complicated, and stuff I'm not really supposed to talk about.

Can they not succeed without you?

[bastilashan]

I understand. I also have things that I may not speak of. Is there anything else that you can tell me about yourself?

I suppose it is possible for my companions to succeed in our mission. I just think that the chances of success are higher if I am there.

[nocawsforconcern]

I can tell you plenty about myself? Enna is short for Gienah but I like Enna better, I like sweet things and shiny things and fuzzy things, I miss my crew already but I love them, I like clear summer days and a good tailwind.

[She folds her arms...]

Mmm, I hope you believe in them some more... But look, we're almost outside!

[bastilashan]

I prefer savory or hearty food that is hot and fresh. Clear summer days on an earth-like planet are nice. I miss my crew, too. I do believe in them, I just think that they need me [she actually believes in them, she just has a really high opinion of her own abilities].

I still cannot see. Perhaps we have to leave the mine. [I hope this is not permanent].

[nocawsforconcern]

In that case, let's go! Dash, full speed ahead!

[she is.. apparently running ahead towards the end of the mine...]

[bastilashan]

Enna, please be careful! [She is shouting and not following yet.] The light could be from something else, not from outside. Besides, we do not know if it is safe out there.

[nocawsforconcern]

It's fine. If it's not safe, I can retreat. I'm fast when it comes to fight or flight!

[bastilashan]

If you say so.

[Since nothing bad has happened yet, Bastila follows Enna out. She is blinded anew by the bright light after being in complete darkness. She does manage not to sink to her knees, but she is brought up short until her eyes adjust.]

Oh! [She gets her first sight of this new world. It is beautiful and rugged at the same time.]

So, where do we go from here?

[nocawsforconcern]

[She sniffs the air, spinning around as she looks...]

... I don't smell the sea anywhere.

[bastilashan]

I am not sure if this world even has a sea. It might, but you are correct, we are not near one now. Is that a collection of tents over there? Perhaps we should investigate, carefully. [Bastila moves to take the lead now that she can see.]

[nocawsforconcern]

... A world... without a sea?

[She doesn't seem to understand. But.]

Investigate? Why?

[She's not moving yet...]

[bastilashan]

Because of that!

[What Bastila saw was not tents at all, not remotely. As she got closer, she discovered it was Shyracks.]

Help me kill them! I have seen these monsters before. They are weak, but they hunt in groups.

[Bastila activates her lightsaber and moves to kill the nearest one.]

[nocawsforconcern]

[The change in her eyes is striking, to say the least. When she hears 'monsters', she immediately focuses. She flaps her cloak open, showing her... bizarre outfit underneath the cloak, but also, the fact that she has twin daggers at her side, and a whole lot of throwing knives inside the cloak.

But... That weapon, looks like it'd be bad for her to get close. Which means she can't fight in close quarters, or else she'd risk being struck with that... whatever it is.

She holds up her arms. Saggitarius and Saggita. The Archer and the Arrow. A bow materializes in her hand, and an arrow in another. Without a word, she fires an arrow straight into the neck of a monster. Telescopium and Reticulum enhance her aim and sniping ability as she fires.]

[bastilashan]

[Bastila takes a moment to be impressed, then she slashes her lightsaber through another Shyrack.]

How many of these are there? They must have arrived the same way we did.

[nocawsforconcern]

It doesn't matter how! How is waste of time! Drive them off, then worry about how!

[Another arrow, another Shyrack downed. The good news is, her accuracy seems to be perfect. Not only is each shot hitting, but she's killing each one with a single arrow.

Unfortunately, Saggita is the spirit of the Arrow. As in, one single arrow. She summons one, looses it, and has to wait for it to hit and kill before she can let it vanish and summon it again, and then aim and shoot again. This means it's pretty slow going for her.]

[bastilashan]

[There are only three more left, so they are doing pretty well. Bastila slices through one more with her lightsaber while making sure none have got too close to Enna. She does not want to lose her new friend, and she can see that she needs time to "reload."]

Thankfully, these are the weakest monsters I have seen in a long time. I remember them being bigger and stronger, or was I simply younger and weaker?

[She is pretty casual for someone who is fighting a swarm of Shyracks.]

[nocawsforconcern]

Same difference, right?

[Either way, Enna seems to pick up on that casual mood, easily matching her tone, as she fires an arrow, taking out one more.]

Weak monsters are good. I'm glad I didn't have to do anything more drastic.

[bastilashan]

Yes, if we had run into a rancor beast or a terentatek...

[Bastila shakes her shoulders. The fact that this brave woman is scared of them should tell you all you need to know.]

Let's just say that I hope never to see them. Would you like the honor of killing that last Shyrack?

[The creature had held back after seeing all its companions die.]

[nocawsforconcern]

Huh?

[She looks at Bastila, then the Shyrack.]

There's no 'honor' in this. If it's not gonna attack, I'm not gonna kill it.

[bastilashan]

[The shyrack lunges at Enna, its massive, teeth-filled jaw wide. Bastila makes a quick, wide swing with her double-bladed lightsaber.]

Yeah, I forgot to mention how treacherous the little beasts are. They pretend to be afraid or retreat, and then retaliate for the deaths of the others. You would almost think they were sentient, but they attack everyone, even each other. They also show no other signs of intelligence or sentience. It is surprising that they live in groups and defend each other, but then fight among themselves. Of course, we seem to do the same thing, at least some humans do.