test drive meme #2

[fernwehmods]

SCENARIOS

01. Settling In

It's been a couple of days since you have arrived and once the fatigue from that multiversal travel has been fixed there is a town that you should probably get acquainted with. At least well enough that you don't get lost every time you venture away from the inn where you are likely staying for the time being.

Down the narrow streets to the south where most newcomers first enter Gazin, the tradespeople have set up their shops. Armourers, blacksmiths, bowyers and carpenters can all be found there, as well a few shady types who cannot pass up the advantage of ripping off an unsuspecting person.

Heading east, one can find the two apothecary shops, a bakery, a herbarium, seamstress and shoemaker. There is also a medical clinic set up and is equipped to care for anything up to moderate injuries.

The northern part of town is the district that most people tend to avoid. It's smelly and dark and trouble lurks in every corner. It's hard not to get an uneasiness that feels like someone is watching you. If asked, most civilians will explain why it is called The Devil's Mouth.

In the west district, it is bright and cheerful and generally happy. Music and celebration seem to happen twice daily, every day of the week with Saturday being the loudest. During that day, the marketplace comes to life with vendors selling their fresh food or wares. In the evening, there's typically a firework show and maybe a drunken fistfight or two that ends with more drinking and some laughter. Sometimes, but not often, trouble from the northern district trickles into the west. Those slow festivities but not for long.

02. Exploring

You have heard people talk about the places beyond Gazin and now you find yourself itching to get out and see them. Be it Vasari Forest or Roselake, you and your trusty legs (or horse) plan to be gone for a week or more. One must always be cautious of the dangers while travelling, however. Bandits and rogue soldiers often cannot pass up the chance to take what isn't theirs. There are also creatures and monsters hiding in wait to curiously check you out or worse, hunt you for their next human-shaped meal.

But, that's all part of the adventure! Take someone along with you and maybe some weapons, too. Make sure one is made of silver.

03. Quest

The Druid known as Bhalris has contracted you to head into the Oren Mountains to find and pass a message along to the dwarf known as Brazmas Steelbelly. What Bhalris doesn't exactly explain is where Brazmas can be found, only giving approximate directions to a certain landmark where a series of clues will be revealed that start an interesting, though perhaps frustrating adventure.

Pay attention to the white raven and other animals along the way. They may be there to help with your journey. How do you tell them apart from the other wildlife that may or may not be dangerous? You can't.

Good luck!

04. Celebration

Impromptu parties are quite the norm in Gazin and it doesn't matter what the occasion is or who it is for. There's music, plenty of drink, dancing and good times to be had.

Let loose and have some fun!

05. Wild Card!

Want something else? Feel free to choose your own adventure or mix and match to create something completely different!

NAVIGATION

Comments

[sawnoevil]

[ Through the darkness, the familiar voice cuts like a knife. Xingchen freezes. His wasn't a voice he was supposed to hear again in this lifetime. Beyond that, it isn't dripping with pain or anger. Is this a trick? An illusion? Song is apologizing for missing his arrival? After all that Xingchen has done.

His voice nearly disappears as surely as his eyes. When his tongue finally moves, it can utter only a single word. ]

Zichen.

[ He should probably respond to something Song has said but instead, he can turn the word around in his mind. Is he...is he bowing? The words come from a lower position.

This is impossible. ]

Is it really Zichen?

[zichen]

[He remains bowed, his hands clasped before him, not daring to move or breathe. Xiao Xingchen is before him. At last! He must find a way to bring him home. That means he mustn't upset him. Xue Yang is better at words than him and he shivers when the other says his name.]

Yes. Song Lan bows before you. [His voice breaks - he can't help it nor stop it.] I wish to make amends. I committed a grave wrong against you, Xingchen. I await your judgement on my behalf.

[sawnoevil]

[ Xingchen has accepted that he's not in their world anymore, but he can't understand how he stepped into a world where this is possible. No one has mentioned the possibility that he'd find something he'd longed for while here.

Then, Song's 'mistake' finally helps Xinghcen realize this isn't based on his wish. He never wanted Song to bow before him or ask for forgiveness. He's accepted his fault in the pain Song must feel. ]

Please, don't bow.

[ No more so than what they do in greeting.

Cautiously, Xingchen moves forward. He can't see Song, but it's not hard to conjure his image. He hasn't forgotten a single feature. ]

I'm the one who lead to your pain. Please, Zichen... It's not you who should apologize. I should have thought about how my own actions would have lead to others being hurt. Because of me, many suffered.

[zichen]

[Carefully, he rises, straightening his back and letting his hands fall back to his sides. The urge to touch and be touched is something Xue Yang has awoken in him and now he understands that he wants the same from...and with...Xiao Xingchen. How would his soulmate react to an embrace? To a kiss? Zichen levels out his breathing, focusing instead on the pain he senses in the other's voice.]

The one who caused me pain was Xue Yang. He and I have...learned...from one another. It was wrong to blame you. [He licks his dry lips and glances down, his brow furrowing.] It was wrong and cruel. I should have never treated you so callously, Xingchen. Ever since we parted, I have been looking for you.

[sawnoevil]

[ His head refuses to settle. Each new statement brings more confusion and even more questions. Xue Yang is here? He's been in contact with Zichen? They've learned from one another? That should be his focus. He should ask about a man that could be dangerous to the population. Instead, he's selfish. ]

You have?

[ It had been years. Zichen has been looking for him for so long? Is it really true? It seems far too much to dare believe, but this is someone he could trust. Even when he was hurt, he didn't pretend everything was fine. Song says it was callousness, but Xingchen believes it to have been honesty. It wasn't possible for him to hide behind any kind of mask.

If all of this is real, there's a very important question. ]

Zichen... After all of this time, are you well?

[ Not angry; Xingchen isn't asking if he's forgiven. He sincerely wants to know how Song is feeling. ]

[zichen]

Yes. [His voice, usually so soft, is stronger, adding emphasis in case Xingchen has any doubts. The moment his anger and pain had diminished enough for him to think clearly, he had begun his search for his precious Xingchen. Zichen hadn't paused in said search, carrying on from village to village for years.

Marshaling his fear, he steps closer and observes Xingchen's face...his body... His memory had failed him. His soulmate is lovelier than he recalled.

And just as selfless too. The question makes his heart ache and he finally lays a hand on Xingchen's arm.]

I'm well. Will you...follow me back? [He continues, voice shyer:] I wish to ensure you are well too.

[And the other man needs to meet Xue Yang; to see the man he has become. Zichen is proud of the delinquent.]

[sawnoevil]

[ At any moment, he'll wake. This is a dream, and Xingchen will be properly ashamed of himself that Zichen went so far as to bow, even if he has no control of this dreamscape.

If this is a sweet, passing moment, Xingchen decides to embrace it. He doesn't realize that Xue Yang waits for him, or that he's spent the last few years with Xue Yang, growing closer and birthing an affection for him as well. After leaving Song, he thought he would never feel that closeness with anyone again, and Xue Yang had provided him with comfort when he needed it most. ]

Thank you.

[ He smiles, a bit worried but sincerely warm. ]

I'd like to experience the life you've made for yourself.

[zichen]

[The truth will be unveiled and Xingchen will need to make certain decisions. But Zichen isn't keen on rushing anything, so he soaks in the warmth of his soulmate's smile. Then, very carefully as if he fears harming the precious man before him, he gently rests their foreheads together. Very lightly. Hardly daring to breathe.]

I will show you everything. [He takes hold of Xingchen's hand, showing him that his fear of contact has lessened. It will never go away - it can't - but he can show his affection.]

This way. [Zichen leads the way, smiling to himself. This is a blessing he feared would never come to pass. Like Xue Yang, he is determined to not waste a single second.]

I've missed you. There hasn't been a day that I haven't thought of you.

[sawnoevil]

[ Without a sense of vision, Xingchen almost questions what he feels despite knowing exactly what it is. Zichen is so close? They had traveled together for so long and yet they'd never been so casual. Xingchen can feel the way his heart quickens even further. He'd been forgiven this much?

What has happened to Zichen while he'd been gone?

Xingchen doesn't know he's destined to die. He doesn't know that one day, he'll find out that he's murdered by the dozens. All of that is blissfully still in a future he's yet to experience.

For now, he's in a 'now' he almost dare not believe. ]

Zichen... I've missed you too. Very much.

[ Is it wrong to say it? Does it imply that he doesn't understand why Song made the decision? ]

It's been a long time. I didn't think we'd have the chance to reunite.

[ In a very real way, they don't, not outside of this world, not in a way that would make either of them happy. ]

[zichen]

[Some details will inevitably be revealed, but others might be kept secret. Xue Yang and Song Lan have no desire to see Xingchen grieving or broken. If they can protect him from the future - for a little while - isn't that preferable?

His chest is warm and he feels his heart beating stronger when his sentiment is returned. He gives Xingchen's hand a warm squeeze, lacing their fingers together.]

You needn't miss me any longer. [Zichen slows his steps to speak from his heart.] I never lost hope that we would be reunited. I carried on for all this time, trusting that I would see you again. I don't want to be parted from you.

[Everything hurts when there is an empty space at his side. Xingchen is part of him and they are akin in their mistakes and their naivete. By blaming Xingchen so harshly, Zichen was passing judgement on himself too.

And that path leads to nowhere Zichen wishes to be.]

[sawnoevil]

[ Once, they said words no different from this but they weren't quite so frank. They had a plan and a mission, one that would be achieved together. Because of Xingchen's decision to focus on Xue Yang, Song lost too much. That divided them. Since, he'd longed to return to what they had even while accepting it as impossible. How is it that, in this world, he gets to hear them again? Only, Xingchen can't deny that there's a lot more affection to them.

If what Zichen says it's true, that's too cruel. For both of them to be longing for the other while being unable to reach them. Xingchen didn't look because even if he found Zichen, he had no right to be by his side. The words that were spoken that day remain in his head. He believed every word and blames Zichen for none of them. ]

If I had known you were looking, I would have sought for you, too. Zichen, after what you lost that day, I thought you would never want to see me again.

[zichen]

What I lost...wasn't your doing. [Words spoke in pain and anger and frustration sent his soulmate flying from him. Song Zichen cannot allow that to happen again - under any circumstance. Xue Yang has taught him how to speak his mind; to not lose his way when emotions overwhelm him. He trusts he can protect Xingchen now - or, at the very least, speak his mind without lashing out irrationally.]

Then I lost you too and that was an emptiness I could not bear. [So his feet kept moving; he slept only when he was exhausted and then he followed the trail again soon after waking.]

Will you give a fool a second chance?

[sawnoevil]

[ Those words are amongst the sweetest he's ever heard. While Xingchen isn't capable of forgiving himself as easily as Song seems to have forgiven him, it's a great relief that Zichen doesn't think it's too painful to have him around.

The smile spreads across his face with a natural ease that he can't control, nor would he want to. Why would one hide their happiness? ]

If you're also willing to give me a second chance as well.

[ The guilt isn't abolished. ]

I don't think we can ignore the past, Zichen, but...

[ Xingchen hesitates. Should he express it? It's more negative than positive, more sad than happy, but the honesty Zichen displays finally makes the decision. ]

I've missed you.