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

[foolishjustice]

And you wish you could be that person?

[have_hat_will_travel]

... I don't know.

Is she happy being a through-and-through good guy? Can't tell from these clues.

Am I happy being myself as I am now? I... Honestly I can't even tell you. That's its own mess.

But figuring this out... It hurts. Because it means she was desperate enough to abandon everything that makes her her.

[foolishjustice]

If it helps...she's not the only one who would have done something like that. I threw away everything I believed in for a twisted goal, and was entirely prepared to pay my life as the price. Being willing to sacrifice everything in anger is a very human flaw.

[have_hat_will_travel]

Yeah. And now the result is my neuroses pile over the inherent conflict between my nature and trying to help people. Maybe she's saner?

But now there's just me. A Succubus, demon of lust. Sure, I got some victories worthwhile, but...

[foolishjustice]

Is that concern because you don't actually want to help people, or because it doesn't seem right for a demon to be doing so?

[have_hat_will_travel]

More... Not being certain what I want in the longer term. Helping in the short term... Isn't bad, people here saved me and I should be grateful and all, but..

[foolishjustice]

But you've never had the sort of freedom to choose your own long-term plans before, and you find it unsettling that you don't know what you want to do with yourself once you leave.

[have_hat_will_travel]

Exactly.

Combine the impulse to just enjoy my powers with the sense that I don't have to be that, and...

[foolishjustice]

I know the feeling. I actually expected to only have another month or so to live before my experiences with the multiverse. I didn't really think about anything after that until I got here.

It might help to sit down and think about what it is that really appeals to you. What kind of person you want to become, without thinking about what you assume would be expected of you.

[have_hat_will_travel]

I'll... Keep it in mind, yeah.

[foolishjustice]

[He reaches out an arm to wrap around her shoulder, if she'll let him.]

If you need someone to bounce ideas off of, I'm always willing to listen. I don't know too much about the specifics of your world, but...

[have_hat_will_travel]

... I'd rather leave it behind if I could.

[foolishjustice]

That's not impossible, there are people with the ability to help others travel between worlds. Is there anywhere specific you'd want to go?

[have_hat_will_travel]

... Someplace less shitty than my world. Some of the higher-tech places sound like they'd be better on most fronts...

[foolishjustice]

Most of those wouldn't be familiar with magic, but...I do know of one. There isn't a representative here, though, so you'll have to wait until we can communicate with other worlds to ask about details.

[have_hat_will_travel]

... Interesting~ Though I'd note that a low-magic world wouldn't be a major problem for me.