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

[hardbargain]

[He'd really appreciate that philosophy, Jake. You should explain it sometime. Ka was a wheel.

Watching the tension ease out of the boy when the barrier falls away is certainly something to keep note of, though.]

Magic's not picky. Asshole or not, it's not the magic's fault. It's the one wielding it. If anything happens, though, trouble comes up. There'll be a lot of magic slinging around. I know at least four others with these same powers.

And then some.

[and_that_is_the_truth]

[He shook his head, but it wasn't aggressive or even disbelieving. Just a statement of truth.] Not in my when or where. My when doesn't have magic at all, but in Midworld, magic is a trig thing. Treacherous at best, but manipulative always.

As for trouble...well, I've got myself covered, say thank ya.

[He shifted forward a little, reaching back to touch the grip of the gun that had been leveled at Nyx only hours before.]

I'm glad you look better. You kinda looked like shit before.

[hardbargain]

Aww thanks kid, appreciate the compliment.

[But he smirks and rolls his eyes as he says it, smirk fighting for all out grin briefly. Looking better than literal death isn't saying a whole lot.]

A "trig" thing? [He tilts his head, curious for a moment.] It's actually a sign of royal blood where I come from. I'm just borrowing it from my King.

[and_that_is_the_truth]

[Hey, 'better than literal death' was an improvement. The last time Jake had seen him, most of his left side had been on fire and there had been more blood on his outsides than in.]

Trig. Umm...smart, but usually smartass. Tricky, ye ken?

[...]

How do you borrow magic?

[hardbargain]

Well that's sure as hell accurate for Regis... and the Prince from what I've heard.

[His King is polite and proper and a perfect gentleman but it's not hard to see the glimmer of mischief sometimes. The careful cut of his beard to hide the little tells in his expression.]

The King has a lot of different abilities. He's chosen to share them with an elite team of... essentially special ops. We're more than just Crownsguard. We're the Kingsglaive and through our ties to him we can draw on the crystal's power.

[Explaining it now the pride fades from his voice, expression growing dark and troubled. If Regis hadn't been so generous with his power then maybe... Maybe they wouldn't have been betrayed but the kingdom would also have fallen a decade earlier. There was no way the Guard alone would have been able to hold back the Empire.

They were fucked no matter what.]

Or at least... we could.

[and_that_is_the_truth]

[That was far too drastic of an expression change for Jake to miss it, even if he didn't also have his Touch telling him that something was going on. He didn't delve too deep, but he got just enough to taste the bitterness of betrayal and loss on his mind.

He didn't think about it before he reached over to rest a comforting hand on Nyx's shoulder for a moment before he dropped it back down to his own lap.]

Well, I mean...I'm not expert, but you can still do it, so obviously you still can.

[hardbargain]

[He flashes a small, weak smile over to Jake at that simple touch. Lucians are so hung up on propriety most of the time they're not very touchy so the readiness with which Jake offers that comfort is greatly appreciated.]

It's complicated. It's not his power I have anymore. He-

[He can't quite bring himself to say the words, like speaking it aloud might make whatever bit of fate allowed them both to be here and alive change it's mind.]

The connection was broken. What I have now is something else entirely.

[and_that_is_the_truth]

[He didn't have to say the words. Jake felt it clear as anything spoken and his eyes widen a little...but then he just nodded.]

Yeah, I did, too.

And you're here now, both of you, so enjoy it. Ka brought you here for a reason.

[hardbargain]

[Oh... oh that is not right. This boy is far too young to have already died. It gets him a shoulder squeeze in return, a small smile that Nyx tries to convey as comforting.]

Enjoy it... yeah, that- I guess that's the plan.

Ka? That your word for fate?

[and_that_is_the_truth]

[At least he was twelve for this death? His first couple were when he was eleven.

He leaned a little into that touch, grateful for the bit of comfort on offer, but he didn't let himself indulge for long. The next bump they hit, he used it as an excuse to straighten back up after reaching down to make sure Oy hadn't been jostled too hard.]

Yeah, I suppose it is. It feels like more, but only because my ka-tet's ka was so big, I think?

[hardbargain]

[Jake stop reminding him of Crowe, it hurts.]

Fate, destiny, whatever... I get that, feeling like it's too big. Shit I was just on the edges of the Prophecy and it's hard to wrap my head around. I can't imagine what it was like for His Majesty or the Prince.

[and_that_is_the_truth]

[Well then, stop reminding him of Eddie.

He nodded as if he completely understood the sentiment, hunching forward a little to bury his chilled fingers into Oy's ruff.]

Everyone spends their time under Ka's weight. Some people just have a heavier wheel than others.

[hardbargain]

[He could help with that if you weren't so skittish about magic y'know. But at least you have a fuzzy space heater.]

Everyone... yeah. Wheel? Is that what you use to represent Ka?

[and_that_is_the_truth]

[All he needed was his fuzzy space heater, thank you.]

Yeah. Ka is a wheel, ever changing, but always repeating.

[hardbargain]

Ever changing, always repeating...

[He lets out a breath, soft and surprised before nodding.]

Ain't that the truth.

[Gods fail, pass the burden on to man, curse them for doing their best, and demand a price no one should have to pay... over and over again. Different forms, different prices, always the same judgement from on high.

Fucking Astrals.]

[and_that_is_the_truth]

[He glanced over, smirking a little at that surprised breath.]

Sounds like you've spent some time under your own wheel. Though...I guess that makes sense.

[He's just gunna...gesture. At all of him. Cause....broken.]

[hardbargain]

Mostly just helping other people with theirs. People with a fate that grand tend to leave a lot of wake.

[It's totally not him, it's his King and the Princess. He just happened to be the one close enough to them to be able to help make sure she'd see the future.]

[and_that_is_the_truth]

[He laughed, shaking his head a little.]

Ka-tet is still ka, Nyx. It just means you share the wheel instead of manage it on your own. I was part of a ka-tet. Then I..well, then I came here. The fact that here exists means that my ka-tet was successful, so that's nice...but I do miss them.

[hardbargain]

Ka-tet? People that... share your fate?

[it's a lot of words he doesn't know but there's also a common theme so he's doing alright figuring things out from context at least.]

I know how you feel. Did your part so that means they're able to go on... doesn't change how much you miss them. Shit I haven't gone more than a day or two without Libertus at my side since I was a kid. He's like a brother to me.

[And as he speaks he reaches up to smooth his fingers back along one of his braids, a reminder of his friend, even if he's not here.]

[and_that_is_the_truth]

[He nodded, leaning back against the side of the sled. It was a simplified answer, but it got the point across. And really....he was only clinging so hard to his father's words because he missed the man so much.

Understanding that wasn't going to change it, though. If staying true to his father's ways meant that he remembered him, then so be it. He'd already given up New York a long time ago.]

We keep them close in our own ways, no matter what reality they're in. Eventually we'll see them again when we get to the clearing at the end of the path, but for now we live as they would want us to live.