Test Drive Meme 1

[labyrinthian_mods]

☙ Test Drive Meme

☙ Quest:

• Quest 0.1: Star Seekers
  An ex-adventurer named Ausan Leighey seeks a company of adventurers to investigate a star which fell into the Yggdrasil Labyrinth.
  
  According to the accounts of soldiers that have gone in before, the area the star supposedly fell is known to be full of sand dunes that shift about under you. They had turned back after finding the carcass of a creature, bones picked clean.
  
  What could have done that, you wonder, even as you're suiting up because money has to come from somewhere.
  
  It's ants. Giant, acid-spitting ants. Luckily for you, it's not the rainy season so all you have to deal with is the occasional scout that may accidentally walk into you, their advance heralded by those shifting sands. Not a problem at all, for a group. A bit of a problem for some going at it solo, so make the smart choice!
  
  Will you try to use those natural ant pheromones to get through without too much fighting? Or perhaps you're just in this for the levels! Either way (probably both involving ant guts), you'll find a chunk of star at the end of your journey, half-buried in the sand.



• Quest 0.2: Napier’s Request
  Every adventurer needs good equipment! The problem is...everything is so expensive! Complaining to the store owner does nothing. She’s only an NPC after all and like any RPG NPC’s her responses are limited.
  
  But when you went to the pub, you found she’s put in a Quest:
  
  Hey, I know a lot of people have weapons or armour they’re not using anymore and they’re probably just collecting dust. How wasteful! If one of you can go collect three pieces of old equipment and bring it to me I’ll trade you something good.
  
  Sounds easy enough! But the terms of the quest means you can’t trade in your own equipment...looks like it’s time to accost some of your fellow adventurers for stuff! Do you ask nicely? Do you try to trick them?
  
  Or maybe you see an opportunity with the quest and hold a yard sale of your own old equipment.

☙ Labyrinth Encounter:
Adventurers exploring the labyrinth may encounter all sorts of events...beware, your choices may have real consequences for yourself and others travelling with you.

Rounding a corner, there is an adorable squirrel-like creature. Unlike the other creatures of the labyrinth it seems to be friendly! It tries to approach, do you…

• A. Scare it away?
  Scare the squirrel away and it runs off with a squeak...and then there’s a rumble before a giant monster squirrel crashes through the trees to attack! Oh no! The squirrel called its mom!


• B. Allow it to approach?
  Allow the squirrel to approach and it rubs up against your arm then tries to climb you like a tree. Cute! And then it steals 5000 gold from your pocket! Or if you don’t have that then whatever money you had. Oh, no! What do you do?

☙The Town of Etria:
It's been a long day of squirrels, giant ants and bartering with a stranger for that old piece of bread in their pocket because that thing was definitely still labeled as "equipment" for reasons unknown to either of you. (And had a defense buff of +10? Why?!)
Now though, your pockets are heavier with either gold or equipment because you can't have both in this town. So for your next plan, do you go to…

• A. Guild
  Ah, home sweet home. The moment you open the door you're greeted by the delicious smell of free food and perhaps your members are home already? Bond, fight over who gets to use the bathroom and its never-ending supply of hot water first, and once you're no longer crusted in ant guts, it's time for dinner!



• B. Golden Deer Pub
  That gold is weighing you down a bit too much, huh? Well, the Golden Deer Pub has you covered. A small blackboard outside lists the daily specials:
  
  Fluffy mountain pie with a field salad, 600 gold
  Dry-roasted river gar with wild rice, 650 gold
  Grave hazelnut mooncake, 500 gold
  Water, 50 gold
  
  And, of course, the owner Fontayne being… himself, means that your order also comes with a side order of a joke. Dinner and a show! Hey, ever heard the joke about the FOE and the tree? You have? Want to hear it again? And then again? He's an NPC, they're not known for their imagination. Or free thought. At least the food, while expensive, is delicious and hey, you never know who you'll meet here. Maybe someone who has deeper pockets and won't mind covering your meal. Perhaps someone looking for more members for their guild, or to join a guild so they can finally stop sleeping in the corner of Napier's shop.



☙ Extra
Got something in mind? Want to play with the setting more? The sky's the limit, so feel free and make up your own prompts to play with!

Welcome to Labyrinthian’s first Test Drive Meme! Please check out the FAQ, extended FAQ and rules as you test your characters out. The setting is yours to play with, so be creative and have a good time with it!

An important date to remember is July 4, 2020 at 9pm EST is when Reserves will open and Applications will open on July 11, 2020 at 9pm EST. There will be reserves for this app round, so please make sure to have that in before you apply. As a side note, TDM threads are not canon, so please feel free to assume established CR for the sake of the TDM if it will make threading or showing off your character's voice easier.

If you have any questions about the TDM, feel free to ask us here. If there are any other questions, you can catch us via PM, the FAQ or the contact page. You are of course welcome to use prompts from the previous test drives as well. Thank you for your interest in Labyrinthian!

Comments

[softheartedshizun]

[Don't say something so overwhelmingly sad as a child!]

Even if you don't, it's this 'uncle's' job to do so anyway.

[unwantedtwin]

[There's shock in her expression and, for a moment, her grip on his sleeve tightens.

Her denial that she needs to be protected was a reflexive one. She's strong enough to not need protection and yet...

It has also been some time since she's had anyone to protect her. And, well. She's not sure what to do about it so she looks down and just makes a vague sound of agreement.]

Mm.

[But she's now holding onto your sleeve so tightly someone would have to pry her fingers off to get her to let go. But now she's also curious...]

Is Uncle Shen a father?

[softheartedshizun]

[He can't help but notice that cling and his heart goes out to her. He had always been weak to children.]

No. But, I have younger siblings and others in my care.

[His shidi, his disciples, his little sister back in his old life....]

[unwantedtwin]

You have siblings too?

[softheartedshizun]

Yes. A sister, sect siblings....

And older ones as well.

[He hadn't spoken about his actual sister in... well, since before he became Shen Qingqiu. It felt a bit odd, it wasn't that he didn't think about her, or his brothers, but, he felt detached in a way. It wasn't that he didn't miss them, but, he also didn't... ache for them either. Maybe it was because he had died?]

[unwantedtwin]

I have a big brother. He said we're twins.

[Because, you know, she hadn't known about that until three years ago.]

Did you get along with them?

[softheartedshizun]

[This child... this child was killing him. What family life did you have!?]

Yes. More or less. I can say our relationship was quite good.

Even now, though there are situations that make life with my sect siblings a bit laborious, we still have good relations overall.

[And at this moment he noticed that he did have a pang when thinking of them... that.. they were not here. Even if he wasn't around for months at a time, he still got to see them. He still liked being there....]

[unwantedtwin]

...do you miss them?

[softheartedshizun]

[He had to think about it for a moment. He did miss them, all of them, and yet, he still felt... detached from his first life. And, slightly detached from his second. But, if he searched his heart, he did indeed miss everyone.]

Very much so.

[unwantedtwin]

[She's quiet for a moment. If she were being honest...she also missed her grandfather and the other villagers...and her brother too, of course, but he at least was alive.

But also, this is her first time meeting a cultivator that displayed such human sentiments like missing someone, so she couldn't help but stare a little.]

Oh. I didn't expect that.

[softheartedshizun]

[He stared at her, why? Did he look so heartless?]

Do I look like the sort to not give a care about anyone?

[unwantedtwin]

The other cultivator I know...he also treats mortal lives as if they were worthless. Even when big brother talked about it, it felt like the lives of mortals were inconsequential.

[She frown, because...she really didn't agree with it. And her grip on his sleeve tightens again.]

I thought maybe, once people become cultivators they forget why these things matter anymore because they stand above those of us who still walk in the dirt and mud.

So it surprised me...that there are cultivators like you too.

[softheartedshizun]

[He can't help but stop and look down at her, the words she was saying were... horrifying. And though he understood that type, the cultivator that had detached from the world and thus could not relate to it anymore, he couldn't relate to it.

He reached out to place a hand on her head, clearly, this child had gone through a lot at such a young age.]

Not all cultivators are detached....

This one's sect spends much of its time handling problems for the people, to help and protect them. Lives, all lives matter, and we will all miss those we are close to.

...

They even fought for five years for a member thought lost, simply to uphold their connection....

[unwantedtwin]

[She looks up when there's a hand on her hand. She looks surprised, but she's obviously clinging to every word.

For three years she's had no choice but to watch tragedy happen around her. There is no doubt what that man would say if she ever spouted such words. Even her brother...she didn't believe he could be truly indifferent when he worked so hard to help her. But she had also hard to argue for it, as if he had forgotten about such worldly things. And, at any rate, they never had a chance to really talk about it afterwards so it became one of those things that have been left hanging.

Up until now, she hadn't realized how badly she wanted someone to tell her she wasn't wrong.

She bites her lip and her eyes tear up. One...two fat tears roll down her cheeks before she wipes them away roughly, and then trying to act like she hadn't started to cry.]

Who did they lose?

[softheartedshizun]

[He pauses a moment before a guilty expression crosses his face and he looks to the side. There was nothing wrong with telling the truth.]

This one was lost.

[unwantedtwin]

What happened?

[softheartedshizun]

[He felt a bit foolish about it all, running away from nothing, too scared to have a proper conversation and too confident he knew everything that would happen. Had he not wanted to change the outcome? If he had expected that... why had he such little faith that it had already changed?

He couldn't help but sigh. He had really caused a lot of trouble and trauma because of his short-sightedness.

But, at that point, there was little choice in the matter.]

In order to prevent my disciple suffering a qi deviation, I took the demonic energy that was causing him to corrupt into me, and then....

[He should not say this to a child. To self destruct the way he had.... No. He would stop there.]

It was five years before I was returned.