DUNGEON - BELLMARE ENCLAVE (BELLMARE MOUNTAINS, PT 2)

[phantasmods]

The shadows are starting to grow very long as you crest his particular ridge - it's not night yet, but it will be soon. In the shadows of the afternoon, with a tall mountain already blocking the sun, lies a snow-covered valley that is different from the ones you've come across thus far in your investigation.

This valley is home to a town, and unlike all the settlements you've seen so far - Incendia, the Telovia mining town, and the manor - it's very much active. There are actual people in the streets, visible from above, going through their days on snow-free streets, bundled up against the cold.

Those of you who asked were told of the handful of people who didn't go into the slumber of stasis as the Fissure conditions of the world grew worse and worse, instead isolating themselves and trying to continue living their lives as they could. Now, it seems, you've found exactly such a group.

Welcome to the Bellmare Enclave, and enjoy your stay.

[[OOC: Welcome to part 2 of the dungeon! For the most part, interaction with the town's NPCs can be handwaved as described on the main information post. Worth noting are the following major things: The Bellmare Enclave isn't expecting visitors, though the people are generally friendly to the new arrivals. They don't know about the time dilation effect of their Fissure - to them, it's only been about eighteen years since the Slumber Plan was put in place and they withdrew from the world. And finally, by a similar token, they have no idea how far the Fissures outside of their own have grown - while it's not uncommon for them to find odd objects from time to time, they'll assume that the characters are just arrivals from other places within their own world, rather than outsiders, until told otherwise.]]

Comments

cw: violence, child death

[thecageysort]

[It does just seem like a memory, at first. A memory that's been haunting Aran for a long time now, even if it's such an old one. He's smaller, still in possession of his full sight, and so young... He can't be much older than twelve in the vision. And the features are right, yes, but the way he holds himself...

It's not necessary to feel anything through the vision to tell that Aran is terrified. He's wide-eyed, almost innocent looking, and shaking so much. It'd be easy to assume he was just an anxious child. That is, if it weren't for the dagger he's holding. And the fact that on the ground in front of him, there's another child. A girl the same age, looking equally scared. Nearby... there stands a woman, watching them curiously. As the fight - if you can even call something like this a fight - seems to be at a standstill, however, her expression shifts ever so slightly. Neutrality making way for displeased.

"Now, Aran, dear..." Her tone is smooth, could almost be kind if it wasn't so cold. And Aran tenses up immediately, his grip tightening on the dagger. He hasn't stopped shaking. "You're not having a change of heart, are you?"

He swallows, not looking at her. He can't look away from the girl in front of him. "I..." But he can't get any words out.

"Hesitating like this could cost you, you know. Remember what I told you?" Of course he does. He'll never forget. "Success isn't a matter of being stronger or smarter than everyone else. All that matters..."

And he remember vividly what comes next. What should come next. But things are different instead. In this memory, Aran barely seems to hear what's being said to him, staring right at the girl. The look in her eyes... like she's pleading. And suddenly, there's no more dagger in his hand. It's clattering to the floor, forgotten, and he moves forward. Reaches out his hand to the girl, to help her up. Even as the woman's voice keeps going.

"...is wanting it more than anyone else."

It's barely noticeable, as the memory is without any feeling. A blessing, really. But the sight of the dagger - no, not the same one, a different one? - in the younger Aran's chest is still disconcerting, even if it is painless. The girl's breath hitches, even as she's pushing it deeper in. She had it hidden, this whole time. And she says something so softly it's only just audible. Just two words, meant only for him, before he slumps onto the floor.

"I'm sorry."

There's the sound of someone clicking their tongue, followed by an exaggerated sigh. "Such a disappointment. And I really thought I saw something in him. Oh, well!"

And just like that, the vision ends. Aran, the present one, is standing perfectly still. As for his expression, it's... honestly unreadable.

So, uh.

That was pleasant to watch, huh, guys?]

[liveofftheland]

Oh, no, no, no...

[Marie's footsteps come down the path. She calls out from far enough away that she can dodge a panic strike.]

Aran!

[thecageysort]

[Aran turns to look at her. Something in his expression, in his eyes - well, eye - seems almost... distant.

But one thing he doesn't seem is panicked. If anything, he's far too calm. Like he didn't just see a "memory" of his own death.]

...Marie.

[liveofftheland]

Alice and I were looking for you, did... [She sighs and looks off.] This place is messed up.

[thecageysort]

That's certainly one way of describing it, yes.

[And then, of course:] Are you alright?

[liveofftheland]

I'm fine. [No mention of the others; he'll worry anyway and go help them out without her getting in the way.] Why show all these things that didn't happen?

[thecageysort]

I don't know. Maybe to make a point. Or maybe it's just... happening. Some sort of magical side effect we don't understand.

It doesn't really matter, because it's pointless anyway.

[liveofftheland]

It matters as much as anything. You know understanding what you're up against is important.

[thecageysort]

I'm not interested in understanding it. I'd like to just be done with this and move on.

[Oh, that's... a little terse, even for Aran. Yeah, maybe he's not taking this so well.]

[liveofftheland]

[She winces at that, but doesn't press it.]

Think we should turn back, then? Maybe we're not prepared.

[thecageysort]

It might not be unwise for you all to turn back. Just in case.

But I'm not planning on it myself.

[liveofftheland]

Then I'm staying. I know a bad idea when I see one, and leaving's it.

[ninjabanish]

[Alice freezes.

That was... Dahlia. One of her father's friends. Ever so gentle. Kind. Even to Alice- No, even to Lucifer, kind and gentle and thoughtful, giving little gifts and helping him- her- grow up as a decent person.

That... couldn't have been real. That was- A fake history. An alternate one. Just like hers.]

... That... could not have been Dahlia...

[thecageysort]

[It's funny. It's one of his worst memories, altered in a way that should really be even more traumatizing, but he hears those words and... He can't help it. He has to laugh. Which isn't even something that Aran does when he's amused by something, which just makes it sound that much more out of place. As if the empty sound to it, the lack of any real positive emotions, wasn't already doing that.] No, that was her, alright. The Legendary Enchantress herself. She hasn't changed a bit since then.

[ninjabanish]

That... cannot be...

[She staggers. Her legs feel weak. How... How?]

But... she was always kind to me...

[thecageysort]

Yeah. [He looks away from her now.] Yeah, she does that. [She'll be kind, so long as it's useful for her to be like that. For the sake of public opinion. To stay beneath suspicion. Whatever she needed.] ...I'm sorry you had to see that.

[ninjabanish]

... But... what of you? You... She, and you...

[words are failing her, because if she says it, it may become real.]

[thecageysort]

What? That memory?

The relationship she had to me?

[He asks that, like he doesn't know what she means. What she wants to know.

Maybe he's just stalling. It's not a nice topic to talk about, even though it's not exactly something he can ignore now.]

[ninjabanish]

Was that... true? Was that who she really was?

[thecageysort]

...Yes. That was her. The real her.

Not many people ever got to see her like that. [He stops. And shakes his head.] Well, not many people who got to live, anyhow.

[summerbloom]

... Mister Aran...

[ ...

nope, sorry, she's too sad to say anything else. Instead, Sophie takes his hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. ]

[thecageysort]

[He doesn't look at her. It's too hard to do that right now.]

So you saw that, did you?

[summerbloom]

... Yes. I'm. I'm really sorry.

[ She's not really sure if she's apologizing for seeing it – though it's not like she exactly wanted to – or for what she's seen. Maybe both. ]

I never realized just how... bad it must've been.

[thecageysort]

It's fine.

[And the award for the most blatantly incorrect statement of 2019 goes to this bullshit.]

I wish you hadn't seen that. It's nothing for you - or anyone else - to worry about. It's ancient history, anyway.

[summerbloom]

[ it's only january and that still checks out ]

It's not... it isn't really...

[ She struggles for a second, to find something to say, and finds there aren't really any words. So she just gives his hand another squeeze. ]

Even if it's in the past it's still... you know.

[ Abjectly awful. ]