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

[founderinglight]

[Except that this is a person who has seen it, whether or not it was something Regis consciously chose to allow. Such is the burden of kings, once they assume the throne - 'you no longer have privacy' isn't just a matter of the media watching your every move.

But there's not judgement and there never has been, because there are some things in life that shouldn't come with conditions.

And so he remains, with an arm around his descendant's shoulders, and when Regis begins to calm and breathe instead of shaking his shoulders with sobs, he just keeps humming until they've both steadied out a bit. His own voice is a bit raw with something, a vulnerability to his family in pain.]

The good thing about retirement is that it's a time to take care of all those things you put away for duty. That includes your heart, Regis.

[kingkingcxiii]

[There is a long moment of silence where it's unclear if Regis is ignoring what Izunia has said or if he's just not ready to speak yet, then he makes a soft, dismissive sound, one almost completely muffled by the Founder King's shoulder. Fortunately, Regis does turn his face out from Izunia's shoulder before speaking. Between the fact he is all but whispering and the hoarseness from his tears, it would have been quite difficult to make out his words otherwise.]

We both know the real issue is that I never fully put my heart away no matter how much it hurt not to.