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

[nojohnyouare]

[It's the same thing Oda said. That he wasn't a good person because of what he did, even if it was for his family. She frowns a little.]

A good person can do a lot of things. Bad things. They might be wrong. But... Not impossible to stop. Or to change.

[foolishjustice]

...I knew, on some level, that I was wrong. I had to die and have my motivation taken as the price before I could start to change.

[nojohnyouare]

...

[Mai shakes her head regardless.]

And you did. Even if there was something else involved.

[foolishjustice]

[He sighs and pushes his mask up to rub at his face.]

It's still...difficult, to put who I was behind me. When others think of me as a good person, I doubt that they're considering all of me.

[nojohnyouare]

Everyone has different parts of themselves. Things they hide. Push away. Show in different places. ...You know that more than most.

[foolishjustice]

And can someone really claim to be a good person if part of what they're hiding is a capacity for extreme cruelty?

[nojohnyouare]

"Can." "Have." "Will." "Want to." ...Different. Even if you can hurt someone. Even if sometimes you want to. And even if you have in the past. You've been trying your best.

...I think you're good. And I see you. Even if you don't feel like you are.

[foolishjustice]

[He lets out a breath, then gives a faint smile.]

...Thank you.

[nojohnyouare]

[Mai is quiet, but gives a tiny smile back.]

Do you need to rest.

[foolishjustice]

I...think I'll be fine. I've worked through worse exhaustion before.

[Granted, the exhaustion that comes after Awakening is...something special.]

[nojohnyouare]

...

[Mai doesn't press it, but she waits, petting a confused Bear-san.]

I'm out of food. Sorry. ...We can wait for a while.

[foolishjustice]

If he's hungry, I always keep plenty of food on me.

[nojohnyouare]

[Bear-san makes an excited noise and lumbers back over to Goro happily.]

I ran out of rations. And I couldn't bring him into town. Thank you.

[foolishjustice]

[Here, Bear-san. Have a plate of sashimi.]

I can share some with you, if you're hungry too.

[nojohnyouare]

[Bear-san starts in on the food immediately, happily eating everything and licking the plate for what he missed. Mai hesitates for half a second.]

If it's not a problem.

[foolishjustice]

It's fine. I have infinite storage space, and anything I put in there stays in stasis, so I always make sure I have plenty of extra food.

[nojohnyouare]

Thank you. I'll make it up to you later.

[Bear-san gives a happy roar and continues licking all the fish off the plate.]

[foolishjustice]

Don't worry about it. I consider it part of my job to make sure we have enough supplies on expeditions, since I can carry as much as I want.

[nojohnyouare]

Even so. Kind. ...Should we go?

[foolishjustice]

I just try to be responsible.

[He adjusts his gloves, then picks up the empty plate and puts it back in his inventory.]

But, yes, we might as well head further in now.