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hey there, recovery from volunteering has taken a little longer than expected, so I haven't made the progress I expected to for updating either prologue or mainline this week.
I dont have a makeup this week either, apologies for that.
I did just get done with the next background. I kind of went a bit too overboard with the idea, but I got used to more fundamentals with photobashing and collage work.
The next ones should be easier. Most of the NERs state right now is mapped out behind the QM screen, and a fair bit of it already has backgrounds for when those segpocks are reached. While I think trying to run the prologue simultaneously bogged things down a little it also allowed me to prep backgrounds for the exploration sequence that'll start this update, so even if yall manage to see just how free the range is I won't have to put in the same level of work on backgrounds as I've had to before.
Otherwise I just have to get the final bits of the script done, do some Korite talksprite updates for post-shrine updates, assembly, and then formatting.
I'm shooting for a Tuesday update. There may be a delay after that for a bit, as I have jury duty summons and need to call in to see if I'm actually gonna be serving.
If I am what delays will happen will depend on the case I'm assigned to, but hey this sequence has been intended to be easier for updates since the first planning stages of things.
From here on out the bulk of the work I'll have to do will be
cognions and items when they show up, which I'll roll for now and again
ability usage animations like the one that'll be in this update
the usual script writing and panel assembly
finalizing The Cleric's design and setting up talksprites. I've done some sketches, and beyond the layered effects this'll def be simpler than Caestellau's talksprite.
Updating Klevas's Profile, and setting up the Cognion info post.
Prologue Status
I have all the photos I'll need for the next prologue update, and maybe the one after that. Hopefully will have 5 out in the next coming week, and 6 the one after that. I've aimed for sandwhiching the main updates with prologue ones as content buffers, but they took... well more time than expected at times. If I was a more experienced artist and had the workflow I do now, I might have done that sooner, but frankly I also know I probably would've done better with adderall in the mix before January.
Scripting is fairly outlined, and this is the home stretch of the prologue with a total of 4 updates.
Otherwise
The threadmark index and thread intro has been updated! I'm still waffling on how I want to implement a bigger update, but that won't come until the prologue updates are done with.
Feel free to let me know if there's anything you think could be reworded for clarity, and the same follows with this next bit.
This'll probably be at the end of the update to explain how to engage with the new sequence.
The tricky part of this is that I'm having to make sure this is understandable both by folks on Sufficient Velocity who are probably used to forum quests, and to people on Thousand Roads forums where Quests and Interactive Fiction are much less common. If folks see me posting about this quest in various discord servers and have never read one, I'd like them to have an idea of what to do too.
I'm unsure whether a longer or shorter version works best.
This Quest uses multiple voting types.
With Choices, I've seen ways things can go, and have pre-written options. These will usually be story forks like "enter the left room first". I will try and communicate the risks and rewards, and other details like dice rolls.
With Commands, you can give any controllable character a command prompt. Maybe you want them to use a psychic power to affect the environment, or have one of their pets use their abilities. Maybe you want them to pick up a cool rock, or ask a specific question in a conversation. I may still roll dice, but these are for simpler and quicker actions. You can reference a character's personality traits to better show your reasoning, but I may also choose commands I find funny.
Don't worry if a command isn't chosen immediately. It might come up in a later update.
Dont worry too much about if something goes wrong, my storytelling style leans fluffy and forgiving even if I can go for the throat. Death is not The End - [ Party ] members can die! That isn't to be equated with 'permadeath'. You can play cautiously all you like, but if things take a turn for the worst it isn't goodbye forever. I make usage of something called a 'miracle roll' when it comes to death, and even after the worst happens it's possible a character will respawn somewhere else... but I give no guarantees they'll show back up before the next major arc begins.
This quest uses multiple voting types.
Choices and Write-In Commands are gonna be our bread and butter options
Choices are the classic style you're gonna be used to on SV. I see routes things could head, and you vote from them.
Plans may be something to vote for from time to time. This is a method of 'planning out' how to respond to what just happened, and often combines voting options from a larger list. As this quest gets into Act 1 there'll be a time-management option where I'll request planning-style votes.
Commands are like "anything goes" and "riot quest" voting. Any character you can control can receive a command, and this goes for most updates.
This can be anything from "examine the sign" to "use (ability) on bench", and will usually be simpler actions or things like asking a character a question.
If this confuses you I recommend checking out an old art quest like Problem Sleuth or Ruby Quest. They're both on the old side, but worth reading!
Priority goes to in-character commands for controllable characters, but if I find something Sufficiently Funny there's a good chance I'll take it. Think of this as "anything goes" or "Riot Quest" style (or mspaint adventures / ruby quest if you're old enough to know those..).
Dont be too afraid of using these! My QM style is overall pretty forgiving and I try to avoid too much crunch (even if my systems feel arcane..).
Dont despair if your command wasn't used in the immediate next update.. I just might see an opportunity down the road >83c
You'll see me write some Choice options with a character's [trait] like a command suffix. You can do this in your Command write-in to show the logic as to why a character would act in the way you're prompting them to. The same goes for other command formatted writing you may have seen in updates.
What to Expect
Some actions may require a roll. I'll try and communicate these with Choices, but due to the nature of Commands it's not likely I'll give warning which require a roll.
Combat may come up, and when it does I'll be breaking out a turn action voting style similar to what you can expect in a DexWorks quest, as I've found their style keeps things balanced between not taking forever and being engaging.
Death Is Not The End - [ Party ] members can die, but that doesn't mean we're looking at permadeath. Feel free to play cautiously, but if things make a turn for the worst characters can persist after death through various means.. but dont expect to see them again easily, or without dying affecting them.
I like short and simple, personally! Maybe a good compromise would be putting an info section in one of the early posts in the thread, or as an extra/bonus/info threadmark or something and including the longer, more detailed info there. Then you could give the shorter version as part of the actual update and include the link to the longer version so people can check that out if they're confused or want a more in-depth explanation.
I like short and simple, personally! Maybe a good compromise would be putting an info section in one of the early posts in the thread, or as an extra/bonus/info threadmark or something and including the longer, more detailed info there. Then you could give the shorter version as part of the actual update and include the link to the longer version so people can check that out if they're confused or want a more in-depth explanation.
re: End of Early Post(s)
I've been considering doing a bit in the opening post for a while now, thankfully. what I put down was a more-final rough draft of what I've been toying with.
A bit of it's taking cues from Dexworks' works, such as Terrene Spire, and the current Conscryption (which is inspired by Inscryption)
He makes sure to include in every thread opener an idea of it being "anything goes" or the specific rules, as a lot of Sufficient Velocity is purely based from "vote between these preset options" with some quests allowing write-in options. His style is more informed by MSPFA style where all commands are "write-in" options.
I was leaning towards having the longer version at the end of the first post, or the 'title card'.
I'm currently between whether I want to migrate all the starting posts one threadmark down in the chain, and have the first thread on both forums be a title card / index similar to other fics here, and some SV quests, but I'm also thinking I might save that for Act 1.
Which the current internal consensus for me is "we should have Act 1 be a new thread" for sanity's sake trying to shuffle threadmarks around.
Thanks for the response!
The couple responses I've gotten have been that everything's legible, which was the big concern.
Ultimately I should've done this at the start, but for a while we were in the character creation weeds, so I didn't want to overload folks with information more than I might already be doing
regrettably I will not be getting the update out today. between some depressive moments that cut work yesterday short, and sleep irregularities trying to be ready for jury duty, and errands I need to run this evening, I don't think I'm going to get things done today.
I'm at the tail end of this update's prep, so I should have something soon. I'll know tomorrow how jury duty will fuck things over, if at all.
I was part of the juror group who were dismissed rather than selected for the trial, and my 'cohort' was told we've completed the duty and will not need to come back tomorrow.
Today's probably not gonna be one I get work done, but I wasn't certain of that to begin with.
Zippi fidgets as they patiently wait while Klevas drops item after item into the portal to store away their excess items.. and it amazes Klevas a little as they seem to just vanish into that portal. Vae can see them drop neatly onto one of the tables, or neatly as they can with the bottles rolling to the side a little before coming to a rest. One protein bar drops into the cauldron only for the scrapbook to tip it over, and for the next protein bar to drop on the side of the cauldron.
Vae knows vae'll have to probably organize things in there later, but for now vae relaxes knowing vae won't have to worry as much if there's a need to run from something, or annoyingly have to try and climb up somewhere.
Klevas waves one of vaer arms upwards as if to tell Zippi to close their zippertail, and while it takes a couple tries they eventually get it.
"Huh.." vae says, and looks down at vaer cognion as vae says "easier than expected."
Vae looks back to the acolyte on the shrine's interface and says "I think we're ready to head out.. so is there going to be a map you give me of the NER?"
They chuckle with their usual smile, "Wouldn't that be lovely? An easy linear map from here to the safehouse you must reach.. but such a boon is one beyond this shrine's lowly capabilities."
They awkwardly chuckle, "I am likewise not that adept in seerage either.. one moment.."
a black background with white lines atop it. An example segpock leads to a hallway of doors where a mini klevas pawn shape (marked with the text, where the i's on "mini klevas" are dotted like eyeballs). Door A leads to an lake bed segpock, and onwards to C and D, which lead further to unknown segpocks. B leads to a forest, leading to D, E, and F segpocks. F does not lead anywhere, but the others lead to multiple segpocks. C and D lead to one of the same segpocks, with D and E leading also to the same. An unknown number of segpocks lie between the mini klevas and the goal, which is marked over a set of red doors with S A on one red door and F E on the other. There is an icon of a house in the bottom left corner of the double doors.
Klevas can hear sounds like scribbling from over the interface, and soon the shrine interface displays something new.
"This is a rough visualization of a NER, Klevas," they chirp out, "and also your goal traipsing this NER: a safehouse. There is almost always going to be one located somewhere within a NER, and finding it can involve a bit of guesswork at times.."
"In any voidtraipsing party there will be various roles, and that of the seer is often integral to pathing out from a NER and making passage elswhere." They explain, and scribble on a new note, "The Safe House broadcasts a signal of sorts.."
"Which is a boon to many like myself, as my seerage is limited much like this basal shrine is.."
"But through the connection and your sensorium shared I am granted an additional window into the NER as you traipse its bounds.." They say, "with this I may trace the pull of different routes.." They say trailing off into a sigh, "Yet I cannot trace much further than morsels.. the signal strength and the distance away in segpocks. Thankfully that is as much as most parties need anyway of a seer."
Klevas considers commenting on how much of vaer time so far has been hearing explanations of things that go over vaer head, but vae also considers that there isn't any significant benefit in making an issue out of it when vae could still run into the pursuer from earlier again.. so all vae does is give a nod before looking to Zippi.
Vaer starter bobs with a fresh zeal considering its life only began moments ago, so Klevas begins the same process as vae had before even meeting Caestellau..
Rather than try to head back the way vae came, Klevas begins to search the shrine segpock in hopes of finding the way to the next.
Klevas considers checking drawers, the spaces between shelves, and even in the wardrobes..
But decides to look towards the back instead, and finds that the rear exit the store would have had does seem to lead out to another segpock..
Klevas looks back to the shrine console for a moment and sees a Korite from within vaer field of vision looking back to the same,
"Do head on," they chime in, "I can remotely set the shrine to its hibernal state."
As this Korite speaks, Klevas sees the shrine console revert to it's original state, "As you can see our connection will remain established just fine."
A pink desert resembling Joshua Tree National Park. The sands, rock formation, and much of the foliage is pink. A rock formation with a natural tunnel leading to an even more pink area that looks larger on the inside is to the left behind a rest area.
The rest area includes a pink concrete bench, a pile of firewood, a camp grill, a large stone by the sidewalk path marking the campground zone, and in front of both the rock and marker are a group of blue wildflowers.
The sidewalk splits with one path leading to a rest stop, and the other behind it. There are blue flowers on the side of the rest stop and in front of a rock at the fork in the path. A one way only sign lies along the path behind the rest stop, and a similar sign with garbled and glitched text sticks out from the vent at the top of the rest stop.
The rest stop has a green button next to its open door, and a pile of fuschia and green buttons cluttering the opening. Next to the rest stop are orange palms of varying sizes, and pastel rocks closer to the viewer with more blue flowers.
In the foreground there is what looks like a one way sign with garbled text and an arrow to the left. Near the rock formation is a sign lying on the ground due to it being severed from the post. The rod still attached to it is dented. The background is a clear sky with only a couple clouds obscurring a snowy mountain rising far on the horizon.
Klevas finds the rear exit leads out... and into a desert of some sort.
Where the sands do not sit idle the desert scrub has taken root, and as vae looks out Klevas can see the desert valley stretch onwards into foothills and mountains alike on the horizon.
Immediately in front of vaem can be seen a rest stop. Some sort of structure sits to vaer right, and vae suspects it may be a restroom.. and to vaer left lies a rock formation.
Klevas can never quite tell where segpocks truly begin and end, as while there looks to be a clear threshhold it looks to be of the same desert even if it looks larger inside the formation than the exterior space says it should contain.
Klevas can be given commands.
Vae could Investigate vaer surroundings, Examine what may stand out, or even use Abilities vaer cognion may have.
Vae can also always Talk with others, and Traipse Elsewhere when the time comes.
This Quest uses voting to direct how the story progresses, and multiple types of voting.
With Choices, I've seen ways things can go, and have pre-written options. These will usually be story forks like "enter the left room first". I will try and communicate the risks and rewards, and other details like dice rolls.
With Commands, you can give any controllable character a command prompt. Maybe you want them to use a psychic power to affect the environment, or have one of their pets use their abilities. Maybe you want them to pick up a cool rock, or ask a specific question in a conversation. I may still roll dice, but these are for simpler and quicker actions. You can reference a character's personality traits to better show your reasoning, but I may also choose commands I find funny.
Please use brackets for each command line.
Your brackets should have an "x" or "X" in them.
A bit of this Quest started out with being inspired by point and click games, text adventures, and stuff like that.
Most commands can be used on what appears within background images, but may be used on inventory contents or a way to prompt a character to think about things.
[] Investigate: pick something to interact with. Roughly synonymous with "Interact" [] Consider: pick something for the character to think about. Roughly synonymous with "Examine" [] Traipse: Pick a direction to proceed from the present location. Future updates will have possible directions marked, and backtracking will become possible. Roughly synonymous with "Go".
These example commands are not required, but should give you an idea how to command characters. Feel free to get creative with your own ideas!
Party members and cognions alike may have abilities they can use in various situations. These range from psionic abilities to skills they've picked up.
Klevas lacks any particular special abilities at present.
To use an ability Zippi might have: [] Zippi: Use (ability) (context, such as "on the wall")
GLOMP!!
Pap
Inventory Access
Reunion
Simple Song
Dont worry too much about if something goes wrong, my storytelling style leans fluffy and forgiving even if I can go for the throat.
Death is not The End - [ Party ] members can die! That isn't to be equated with 'permadeath'. You can play cautiously all you like, but if things take a turn for the worst it isn't goodbye forever.
I make usage of something called a 'miracle roll' when it comes to death, and even after the worst happens it's possible a character will respawn somewhere else... but I give no guarantees they'll show back up before the next major arc begins.
For instance if Klevas is to die while exploring this NER, vae would likely respawn in another NER. I'd likely roll for it to see the circumstances (and there would be options outside of a NER should it happen), but so long as Zippi remains alive they would return to vaem.
(If Zippi is ensouled within Klevas's inner world on death, reunion wouldn't be necessary as they would be spirited away with Klevas on respawn).
Regardless of commands Klevas will Ask Korite about how the path forward looks.
Ooh, feels like we're making real progress! I enjoy the trippy desert scenery. And is that a one-way sign pointing the opposite direction of the one still posted that would have been pointing in the opposite direction?
I think it makes sense to poke around a little bit to get our bearings!
Investigate where? (A general direction / thing.)
As a result of @Nonakin 's command on SV, I'll also be appending "[X] Investigate: Rest Stop Doorway" as a decision of Klevas's as a result of the examine command for the rest stop.
dw, it's not too late at all! I'm currently working on the next update, hoping to get it out for Friday or Saturday
I'll either work it into this update, or the one after this.
EDIT: It will have to be saturday, I don't expect to complete today due to something coming up, and the likelihood I'll need to be away from my computer for the evening.
Heya, I did a bit of a different review style this time around since I admittedly wasn’t fully sure how to best approach reviewing this story as interactive media with a strong non-text component, so I wound up cribbing that review style @Ambyssin uses during Review Blitzes to leave a stream-of-consciousness set of reactions. I was originally planning on reading up to the most recent post, but… uh, there was a lot to get through, so I opted to go up to The Scrapbook for my review since things turned out a bit denser than expected for a read in spite of the low “on paper” wordcount.
Anyhow, onto the review:
The Initial Vignette - In Medias Res
- Ah yes, a lamp store. Definitely quite the lightshow to kick things off on
- So this place is some sort of safe space with a shrine in it, I wonder to whom?
- >this bone and scale rosary lamp . I didn’t realize until just now that this was Original fiction, though duly noted
- Wait, so were the ‘Investigate’ and ‘Introspect’ options pre-selected? Or else how was it determined to choose these two actions out of the four possibilities provided?
- >decentralized peer to peermind interface . Implying that there’s neurally-based communication in this setting? We’re definitely living in quite the wild future if so
- Ah, I see that you provided the first set of choices for the players there, though a [ Profile ], huh? Are we in cyberspace at the moment?
- Oh, hello, one-eyed alien in the hologram
- >a seed of refuge within the Great Rift . We’re going to be finding out an awful lot about that place, aren’t we?
- And alium has a name: Korite, duly noted
- Oh, so the profile is essentially character creation. That’s a clever way of handling things
- So the PC has some degree of pre-existing characterization based off their interaction with Korite. Duly noted for the future. You also have a missing newline at the "You called at a shrine, so beyond the obvious.” line
- Wait, what are SegPocks anyways? Since I feel like this is a big setting detail, but it’s still a bit unclear right now
- >”We have some people who will be out on scouting and maintenance duties. They'll likely attempt to provoke an encounter with it, and decide from there what's the best way to proceed.” Ah yes, there’s a Bubsy meme for this.
- Clerics, huh? I admittedly wasn’t expecting that given the vaporwave aesthetic, though I suppose that given that there’s a concept of a ‘shrine’ that there’s a mystical component to this story
- I was going to ask what a ‘Cognion’ was, but based off of Korite’s explanation, it sounds like they’re meant to be Familiars
- Aaaand Cognions are apparently not above trying to get nibbles from the people they’re bonded with. That’s certainly reassuring.
- On the one hand, I get that you don’t want a giant wall of exposition for all these highlighted terms, but I do wonder if there ought to have been more context cues provided, since [innerscape] kinda meant a whole lot of nothing to me
- >I'm talking about that scrapbook of yours. Small typo here
- Oh, so the hologram allows Korite to do more than just see us. I think. I wonder why the PC wasn’t experiencing senses other than just sight and audio for Korite in that case
- “sophont” is apparently a term for beings with roughly equivalent or greater capacity for reason than humans, TIL
- Ah, I see that you opened another batch of choices. Based off the next threadmark, I’m guessing the “Ask About the Cognion Ritual” option was the winner.
Cognion Ritual for the Uninitiated
- Ominous shuddering shrine is ominous, ditto the distorting furniture and sudden surprise runes. Also, mind your newlines
- Huh. That’s quite the sigil at the shrine basin. I wonder if that pattern is based off anything in particular or not
- And yeah, feeling pretty good about that prediction that Cognions are effectively Familiars
- Kilon sounds like it’s a lovely™ place to be. Or at least I think the implication is that it’s a place
- There’s an idea of a “starter” for Cognions, huh? Do we also get to pick out three from a lineup?
- You have a moment where your transcript for Korite talking about the Klion way is both in the spoiler box and duplicated outside of it right afterwards
- Wait, ‘still-folded worlds’? What do unfolded ones look like, then? Though I wonder how much of this the player character is meant to know, or if this is all supposed to be new to them much like it is for us
- Getting some XB2 core crystal vibes from the description of how this cognion creation process works. We basically start with an outside template and project a part of our memories / persona / whatever onto it, which isn’t that far off from how Blades in XB2 worked.
- I see more new terms with ‘NER’ and ‘demiplane’ there. I’ll keep an eye out for if they get defined later in this section, but they certainly sound important.
- Wait, there are other people here aside from just Korite?
- You have another “your’s” that should be “yours” in the third paragraph under ‘Ask about Korite’s Cognion’ section
- Huh. That’s more than I was expecting from an inventory for waking up in a weird place without a firm idea of what’s going on. I take it that we’ll be needing this in short order
- Trippy scrapbook is trippy
- >”Meditating on any one brings it back to your senses like you could play it over again. It's something that comes to your mind again and again.” Boy, I hope someone meditated on the tunnel pic, since that one looks wild.
- Aha, so we’re getting a traveling bard for our Cognion / Familiar. Always a solid choice for a wandering adventurer
- Aaaand it’s time to make a character, though I suppose we might as well see where that went since it’s the very next post
Who Are You? - Character Creation
- I wonder if it might make sense to do some sort of recap of the choices available to the participants at the end of each post, since I admittedly got thrown in a loop by this opening choice here since I forgot it was presented as a first set of choices about halfway through the prior update
- Actually, I just realized, but how was this selection chosen anyways? Since the only vote on TR for that question chose a different option.
- Those… Voidclams are something else. Especially with those ominous-looking eyes there.
- So at least some Cognions are capable of symbiotic behavior. I wonder if that means that there’s some sort of ‘fusion’ mechanic for Cognions in this game
- Yup, based on Korite’s dialogue we got our confirmation on there being Cognion fusion. It’ll be fun to see that one get unlocked
- Huh, preselected name, but everything else is floating. That’s definitely different. I wonder what ‘Zrom’ means in this setting given that it was specifically chosen as a default
- >those species choices . If the audience didn’t choose ‘Spooper’, I’m going to be so disappointed.
- And lots of selectable options for character creation there, including defaults of the five species that are selectable. I honestly wonder how on earth you handled voting for this, since you’d think that almost every player would propose something completely different from the next one. I mean, judging from the next proper update, it looks like we already have an answer at least to the name of the PC, but…
The Scapbook
- Oh, so we’re getting more backstory behind each of those photos in the scrapbook last update. Neat.
- So ‘Zrom’ apparently was a gamer, or at least that’s what I’m getting from the pond photo
- And he went to conventions back in the day. Did they play competitive Melee, too?
- Oh, well that tunnel fluff text sounds ominous there.
- Oh, there’s more pages here. I wonder if first-time readers are meant to look at this or not. If not, it probably makes sense to have some way of noting things for readers to skip it until they reach a certain point
- >’so many creches to find a trinket within’ … is that a typo? Or is that a deliberate word choice that there’s groups of babies of… something in this forest?
- Huh, whoever built this underground place looks like they had a thing for Classical architecture
- >‘Zrom’ is a furry. Well that answer the question of what sorts of conventions they went to
- ‘Depthscraper’, huh? Are these just vertical shafts with floors dug into the hollow, or is this something like the Geofront from Evangelion? Though ‘Zrom’ apparently was once an underground dweller
- Creepy store looks creepy
- I can’t tell if these sticky notes are meant to have happened before the start of the game, or if these are from later posts, but either way, ‘Zrom’ has certainly been running around quite a bit. Probably screaming, too.
Alright, time for the recap. But that was definitely a different experience. Very imaginative too since the aesthetic and the flavor behind this setting that we’re in is full of things that you don’t see a lot of all together in one story. Thus far, it’s been doing a pretty good job at feeling alive as a setting even if we’re still more or less stuck in the backroom of a lamp shop at the moment.
As for issues that I saw, be mindful of little typos and formatting errors since they're a bit distracting to read. I also noticed that you dropped a lot of terms without much context to figure out what they are. That might have been a deliberate choice on your part if the player character is meant to be getting thrown into things and learning as they go, but if so, you might want to emphasize the character’s thoughts finding different concepts unfamiliar and going “oh, that’s what that meant” a bit more in others. I also noticed that you seem to be drawing feedback from multiple sites beyond just TR, which while fine and good especially if the other sites generate more volume of feedback, I wonder if there’s a way for TR readers to be more clued in on what those other forks of this interactive quest are contributing, since it was admittedly a bit jarring at a couple points to see players submit answers to certain prompts and then the narrative choose something completely different. Like the votes are votes, but I feel like there’s something missing for being able to see how different choices were ultimately settled on in the present version of the game.
I’m not really sure how applicable or not this feedback will be to an interactive work, but hope it was fun to read @Meridian . I don’t know when I’ll get back into this interactive quest, but it’s definitely interesting enough that I could see myself making submissions if I ever fully caught up with things.
Thanks for your patience, and best of luck with your future interactions in this story.
As Klevas considers how to proceed, Zippi begins to investigate the new environment. Whether getting a closer look at the camp grill or the flowers they seem curious about this space, and Klevas finds vaemself thinking how the second place you've ever been to will probably be that much more interesting than the first.
Shifting weight from one "leg" to the other Klevas finds the sand too shifts around vaer tendrils. They're not too warm, but vae could imagine standing too long on the sand or the pavement alike could get uncomfortable..
Vae supposes vaer thankful there's a bench if vae sticks around for long, or even had to camp here..
Klevas was getting used to the idea of a threshold as the point where two segpocks might connect, and amidst the scenery the Rest Stop was what drew vaer attention first.
Specifically what lay about the doorway made vaem ask of Korite: "Any leads?"
It takes but a moment of them turning their attention to whatever interface they've played with on their end, and they answer a question with one of their own, "Yes, but why to the point so quickly?"
Instead of answering back immediately vae crouches to look at the buttons strewn about in the doorway. The assortment reminds vaem of where Caestellau enchanted vaer possessions, and the colors speak to vaer [ Creative ] side.
Would they be worth using in making a new instrument? Klevas feels like it's been too long.
"If you were worried about taking something belonging to someone," they chime as if to answer a question before it was asked, "unless a NER is so well-traveled.. you can assume that what you find has either been abandoned and unowned for some time, or spawned into existence free for the taking."
As Klevas looks about the rest stop vae notices that there seems to be a green button beside the door into the rest stop.. vae thinks it looks like one that should be on an elevator, but doesn't know what it would do if pressed.
For that matter vae finds vaemself asking, "Who propped the door open?"
A rock is wedged in front of the door to keep it open. The door has a handle on both sides. It has vents so it isn't for safety or anything like that...
"Have you considered it was born propped open?" Korite muses, "Have you looked up at the sky lately Klevas? Have you noticed there is no clearly defined light source? Have you noticed many of the shadows are independently informed of where they should point from each other?"
Vae feels slightly overwhelmed at the amount of questions asked, but understands this is probably a 'rhetorical question' and that no answer is truly being asked of vaem.. but vae still respond, "No? Why would it be 'born' at all?"
"This segpock had to have come into being somehow. You may as well call emerging from the uncosm of countless unconscious minds a birth.." They explain, and 'lean in' to however they record their projection, "Listen Klevas, it isn't my job to work out what a segpock was before it ended up in this NER. It could've been someone's dream, and that dream could've been based on trips they took to a park as a kid.. and it could've been based on a brochure they saw in passing. This could just be the result of a person's lifetime of visits to the park collapsing in on themselves as they breathed their last.. and that's before throwing in that the void plays endlessly with the contents that comprise it. This segpock could be the result of a thousand memories stitched together.." and when they finally lean back into their seat they sigh, "Sometimes it's worth questioning why things are, and sometimes it will serve you no benefit. The question is whether you want to change the state of the world around you, I guess."
Klevas rocks back and forth to tilt vaemself in a nodding motion, and says "So the door was always propped open?"
"I don't know. Nothing in the notes I can access about the 'open or closed' state of that part of this segpock," they say, "Could've been another voidtraipser, could've just been that way to begin with."
After a pause the acolyte flashes Klevas a wry grin, "Still waiting on an answer, by the way~" prompting Klevas to stop lingering on the door's status of being propped open.
Vae notices there is a small flower bed of the same blue flowers found throughout the segpock. Klevas feels [Curious] about their scent, and if they contain a natural dye of some sort given their strong color.
Vae wonders if they're safe to eat... maybe they'd be good in tea? Klevas feels like vae'd heard about a tea dyed blue from the flowers used for it.
Klevas notices that one of the signs posted throughout the segpock looks like it is sticking out of the.. is it an air vent? Vae doesn't think it's a chimney of all things, but the sign seems to have been wedged into that space. Vae wonders if it's stuck there... and what it's supposed to say.
Vae considers asking Korite who would put it there, but the idea of how to get it down appeals more. Vae could try to climb up atop the rest stop via the gaps in the wall or the palms... or maybe vae could ask Zippi to climb up?
Klevas decides..
[X] Investigate: Rest Stop Doorway
Klevas can feel Korite's attention on vaem.. "Hunch." Vae states, as vae looks into the rest stop..
The buttons strewn about are a different set of colors and shades, but it looks too similar for vaem to ignore, prompting vaem to ask "Can a NER have the same Segpock twice?"
(Korite statement of response bodily) "It is possible, but existing documentation does not show this segpock intersecting with the desert... but such is what happens when a NER is forced to re-align itself." They say, and Klevas can feel their gaze scan over the stairway as it leads down into depths unclear as the first time, "I expect what you bear witness to is one and the same segpock that you had traipsed prior."
Making vaer way over to the rock formation, as the alternative is hiking through the brush and up the mountainside in hopes of finding another connecting point to another segpock.. Klevas contemplates if it's really a natural rock formation.
The shapes all feel natural enough, but vae could swear the one atop feels like it should slide down and off...
"Worried about it collapsing on you?" Korite chimes in as though having read vaer mind, "Unlike the stairs this little tunnel's reliably been a part of the documentation for this NER, so by all accounts it should remain stable."
The smile the acolyte has as they interrupted vaer thoughts leaves Klevas suspecting they can see more than vae might want.
"If it's that much of a problem you may want to consider practicing warding when you get to Rememaudlin," Korite says as if to answer the question lingering in the air, "but hey, you can also ask me to let your doubts remain unanswered."
"Could ask you to stop as well," Klevas notes, and puts vaer tendrils to the rock face at the entrance, "Sturdy enough for flowers to grow.." vae says, looking up to see the same blue flowers growing throughout the desert collecting the same place where the moisture does.
Klevas feels like they are still within the same segpock, but the lighting has changed as they come out the other side only a short distance away. As though it falls differently, as though the skylight it filters through is a different rose-tinted lens coloring all below.
The blue flowers crowd the scenery before vaem, and Zippi bounds ahead to frolick among them, before bounding onto a rock to look back at you.
"I had grown certain this was the other path.." Korite makes note as you look ahead. "I am certain that the rock formation leads to the other means of egress.." They say, and begin to speak only to cut themselves off with a sigh, and starting again make out "it is documented" and cuts themselves off again with a groan, "this should be a safehouse route.."
Vae looks ahead, and seeing an archway that only connects to a cliff-face hazards a guess by asking "Wrong?"
"Yes, something is wrong," They reply with little delay, groaning as you can hear rapid tapping through the connection, "because of course the quick path dissociated in the re-alignment!"
Their frustrations return to the same cycle with little clear end.
"I.." Klevas begins to say, but is cut off
"The good news is that I have determined the (Technically) shorter path!" Korite exclaims, "And the bad news is that the segpocks are only adjacent, and that the longer path is (now) the shorter path!"
Korite immediately disappears from the chriilth'tyn's field of view, and for a moment it seems as if the connection had been remotely closed.
A distortion rolls through their senses for a moment informing vaem that this is not the case. Vaer left with the impression that the psychic scream had been 'muffled'.
The process rattles Klevas causing vaem to once again tense, tendrils drawing tight around their instrument concerned for dropping it.. but as vae looks about vae only sees Zippi staring back at vaem expectantly. Vae feels a little relief at knowing that however Korite is venting their frustration.. at least it isn't affecting the NER?
Vae feels like vaer first day in the void has been hectic enough without an alien managing to break something just by screaming.. so this is fine, right?
Vae feels like it'll need to be fine, as vae can feel something... like there's a thought vae can't let go of, as the connection widens back to its prior bandwidth and the acolyte returns.
Klevas is initially unsure, but still chooses to ask, "Are you.. okay?"
The acolyte says "No. The next segpock is still there, but you personally have no means of reaching it."
Klevas rocks vaer torso back and forth to nod, saying "Okay.."
Cutting off any further inquiries, Korite says "I need a moment."
The connection dims once more, and it's readily apparent once more how vaer head feels a little emptier than it has since vae activated the shrine. Being around others feels like a weight in its own right, but the psionic connection since the shrine has been a constant presence since it began... and vaer not sure if vae wants to be left alone for too long.
Klevas feels like they could probably reach the safehouse on their own, but isn't sure enough of the idea. It's different now knowing there's something worth avoiding in the NER, and vae feels lucky that vae didn't run into the [ Pursuer ] as it patrolled the NER.
Klevas doesn't feel like vae would have known what to do if vae had. Vaer response probably would have been more panicked than the first time, whether freezing up or running without any idea where vae was going.
Running into a corner and turning about only to see that gas masked head and gaunt form blocking the only way back..
Vae freezes up, and you prompt vaem to intone vaer instrument to call to Zippi. They immediately perk up looking at vaem with the same excitable interest, scampering through the flowers and between the rocks to reach vaer side.
Vae isn't quite sure where to pet Zippi, but brushes a tendril against the part of a mask shard they aren't gripping. The starter briefly flinches, but leans into the touch when they realize they're not going to be hurt. It's strange due to the icing glaze coating the ceramic, but so long as Klevas is gentle vae doesn't feel like vae'll break the glaze.
You prompt Klevas to head back to the main area as there was still more to check out, and so vae walks back to the rest stop through the tunnel, and vae thinks about how otherwise vae'll just be standing around waiting for Korite to come back.
The desert segpock vae'd traipsed into had a number of different signs posted about. Vae'd already noticed the one atop the rest stop, but vae'd passed right by the one that was toppled..
On closer inspection it wasn't toppled, but broken off.
Cut maybe? Klevas looks at the rod still inserted into the sands next to the rocks.. and notices it looks kind of like a cut, kind of like torn fabric.
So why did it look like the bar was dented on the part still attached to the sign?
Klevas doesn't know what could have done it, but feels like it is free scrap metal just laying there. Vae also realizes with the dent that it could be treated like a curved handle for the sign, and used like a blunt object maybe? Vae doesn't feel too confident about vaer strength when it comes to using it as a weapon, so maybe vae could use it for putting bread in an oven.. but vae realizes that's probably a silly use for it.
Vae might get tired carrying it around in vaer tendrils, but vaer inventory has plenty of space to spare. Whether the sign is taken or not, vae has options.
Klevas realizes vae'll have to decide on what to scavenge from the segpock later, as vae can feel the connection return to it's previous strength once more..
"I will keep this one brief.." They say as they bring up another visual to the chriilth'tyn's field of view.
"I know which direction is which now. I am not yet certain how long the available path will take you, but it should be under 10 segpocks. This does not change that the only way forwards (at present) is along that staircase."
The image shows Korite commenting on the disconnection of the desert from what they expect is an urban segpock, note labelled "Dissociation. How unfortunate."
Another note next to the rest stop says "Yeah Sorry"
unknown segpocks are labelled with repeated question marks, or brief guesses at what they are seeing.
It is clear to both Klevas and Korite alike that there is only one way forwards to safety for now.
The [ Party ] can be given commands
They could Investigate their surroundings, Examine what may stand out, or even use Abilities they may have.
They can also always Talk with those around them, and Traipse Elsewhere when the time comes.
[]Klevas: Attempt to climb the rest stopKlevas will attempt to climb the side of the rest stop to reach the roof and retrieve the sign. (Success requires a 75 or higher on a d100. Failures under 33 result in an injury for Klevas, may make future actions harder.) []Zippi: Attempt to climb the rest stopKlevas will attempt to give Zippi a boost up the side of the rest stop so that they can put the sign directly into the inventory. (Success requires a 65 or higher on a d100. Failures under 25 result in an injury for Zippi, and will disadvantage them in combat.)
[]Traipse Elsewhere: See where the Button Stairway leads. (If not chosen this update, Klevas will opt for it in the one after this).
Hey! Well, I'd meant to get this posted for Friday, but things get in the way now and again.
I'm unsure if I'll be updating the following week, as I do want to work on the prologue update I've been leaving on the wayside.. plus this next one could take me the whole week to work on, and idk if I'd be able to get it out by this coming friday, or saturday, or sunday =w=;;
The one thing I've been aware of with this sequence is that once I finally got us out of the vintage store segpock, it's all a lot easier... so long as I have my background images prepped. There's a detail or two that still needs prepwork, but we'll see how it goes.
Aside from that, did you know that the other forum I mirror this Art Quest on, Sufficient Velocity, is celebrating their 10 year anniversary? I didn't realize until the announcement was made here, but it's kinda funny both have April Anniversaries right?
This update doesn't require any majority voting, but some feedback reminded me that I should be putting reminders to check the votes on the other mirror, as that helps transparency and collaboration.
Well, I was and am intrigued by the sign, but... for whatever reason I really want the flowers more at the moment, lol. Can never have too many pretty flowers. Let's do it.
Well, I was and am intrigued by the sign, but... for whatever reason I really want the flowers more at the moment, lol. Can never have too many pretty flowers. Let's do it.
I know with some prior updates it was a Choose One, but folks are welcome to submit multiple commands (unless I specifically specify on an update otherwise, like a majority vote / plan vote). I was just listing out different things from the update that could be collected, when anything in a background image is generally gonna be fair game for open-ended commands.
last update Solarstream on SV submitted two commands and I pursued them (in-part because Examine / Investigate amount to basically the same thing on a point of movement to another area, admittedly).
[x]Klevas: Ask Korite if putting oneself in their own inventory is a bad idea.
[x]Zippi: Attempt to climb the rest stop
Depending on the outcomes of both of those, i.e. a go-ahead from Korite and actually climbing the rest stop,
[x]Klevas: Put self in inventory and then remove self.
I enjoy the trippy desert scenery. And is that a one-way sign pointing the opposite direction of the one still posted that would have been pointing in the opposite direction?
