farsickooc | test drive meme #2

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

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Xingchen remembers a time when the young master was kind enough to capture the same man he knows watches over. Xue Yang was a different person then, one who looked to harm others. It was difficult for Xingchen to believe a switch has been made, but it seems to be true, a fact backed by Zichen.

He doesn't yet fully understand the concept of alternate versions of his own world so he assumes Wuxian also remembers him from that night all those years ago. Otherwise, he'd have introduced himself.

Since Wuxian doesn't deny the name, Xingchen assumes he's correct in the assumption of Wuxian's identity. A soft shake of his head shows he doesn't fully understand what the young master means.

"Has someone been speaking about me?"

Although WuXian knows that XingChen wouldn't be able to see it, he rolls his eyes in disdain with an amused snort. Even though he was making an attempt at civility with Xue Yang, his disgust is hard to contain.

"That brat, Xue Yang. He claims that you and Daozhang Song Lan trust him? Is this true, and forgive my rudeness Daozhang, but why do you put that in him? Did he not murder an entire clan out of petty revenge? Trick you to kill Daozhang Song Lan? Drive you to.." He pauses, taking a breath to contain his rising frustration as well as hold his tongue about that duo's unfortunate fate at Xue Yang's hands. Surely the 'him' from before would have said such things?

He also paused before his words reflected his own past, since he himself had blood on his own hands. Fractured memories of it or not.

The distrust is fair. Xingchen had it as well. Even once he decided to give Xue Yang a chance, it was under the condition that if he fell back into his old habits, Xingchen would be forced to handle the man himself. Part of it is selfish; while under the guise of someone else, Xue Yang grew closer to Xingchen in that little city with a population of three. Part of it is that Zichen gave his word that the former murderer really did change. If people can become someone else, a better version of themselves, shouldn't they be given the chance? While he would strike down those who'd do others harm, redemption seems like the better solution. How can anyone change if never allowed a chance?

But, there are a lot of things Wuxian can't possibly know. For one, the Xingchen who stands before him isn't the same Xingchen who was here with the original Wuxian. Both have left and both have come back, only months apart. Whatever conversations the two had are lost to both of them.

The second thing Wuxian can't possibly know is that Xingchen hasn't yet experienced that horrible fate, and both Xue Yang and Zichen had decided to spare him the knowledge. It's why the speech he would have delivered gets lost as a mask of confusion covers Xingchen's face.

"I don't understand. Are there people who are saying that's happened? I wouldn't hurt Zichen."

Not knowing any of that is enough of a headache for him, not knowing what previous versions of themselves had discussed makes for a frustrating tangled mess to work through. One annoying mess after another.

But XingChen not knowing what he was meaning made it all the more troublesome. How could he not know? But at the same time, WuXian had no concept of different timelines, let alone their differences from home. That Xue Yang was far more vile in his own than XingChen's, making the attempt of civility harder.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, WuXian sighs.

"Not what people are saying, but what A-Qing's ghost showed me in Empathy. It may be better to ask him yourself but I watched it happen in her shared memory. He tricked you, many times, into killing other living people."

Was this likely a bad idea to divulge this information? Probably. Was it important? Definitely.

What good mood remained shatters. He's found a bit more of a life here, one that actually did include Xue Yang, but that too was based on a lie? Killing other living people? Had he really committed murder? The mention of A-Qing lends some credibility, and Xingchen can't think of a reason Wuxian would create such a painful lie.

"Into...killing other living people?"

It's news that shattered him once, so deeply that he took his own life. Xingchen still shelters guilt over what happened to Zichen's clan, and he wasn't even directly involved. A wave of hatred washes over him, but it's aimed more at himself than anyone.

"How would he trick me into killing other living people?"

Despite what others think and had thought of him, WuXian never had seen much reason to lie or deceive, not on matters like this. He did lie in the past, but it was never to cause harm, it was to protect others from him.

But maybe he should have lied just this once, knowing the result of what this specific truth did to XingChen, but there was no turning back now. No denying the truth when he's already said the things he did. Even if WuXian was excellent at playing something serious off in a joking manner. And so, after a long moment of silence, the words come out with weight in his voice.

"Yes. Living people... And by removing their tongues they could not beg you not to. Shanghua has the ability to detect corpse energy does it not? What worse way to trick your sword than to infect someone with corpse poisoning?"

His gaze intensifies all over XingChen, watching for any movement similar to the gruesome sight he witnessed through A-Qing, not wishing to see that happen in such a public space. He didn't need to see for a second time the classmate of his mother's make an attempt on his life. Then, without hesitation, he attempts a subject change.

"Daozhang. You knew my mom, better than I can remember her.. would you tell me more?"

test drive meme #2

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