15strangers | (no subject)

W̡͜E̶EK ̵̕2̕͠

[The blight would not stop.

The world's leading experts have been trying to find a cure, to no avail. Th blight keeps changing, keeps foiling all attempts at being fully understood. It's almost sentient, or at least more sentient than any disease that's been encountered before. People fear the disease jumping from what's left of the grapes into other plants, into animals, or even humans.

You can only watch as entire economies and ecosystems collapse. You can only bury your head in your hands as your own business comes to its end. The destruction of the clusters of grapes has not simply destroyed the wine industry, either-other businesses are being destroyed by the plague. Food, transport, retail, nothing is untouched.

You look on your own vineyard, its yield almost entirely blackened and dead.

This can't keep going on.

-

A week has passed since everyone's arrival. No one has died, yet. But surely no one is holding their breath to see if they would survive this unscathed. They are veterans of the game, and they must know that whoever it is that is in charge demands their pound of flesh. The question is when it will happen.

It is the second week, after all-and when the second week of the game comes, death is not far behind. Not even when you wake up, feeling something different in your mind as you remember the truths you originally woke up with, deep in your mind. You feel...lighter, somehow, when you realize there is a change.

Even so, there are 15 strangers left in this place.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Possibly. Her whole class would go on trips to other areas of Erebonia to get practical experience in battle and to see how things were with their own eyes. You'd probably like hearing about how her and her classmates went into a dangerous castle full of undead to save two missing boys. She was quite useful there since witches have the best understanding of those creatures and how to handle them.

That sounds happier than the kinds of missing person requests we get.... Usually we can assume we're searching for someone's remains. Most people who enter the Labyrinth don't come out, so if an explorer goes missing...

Very much so. [But that last part bothers her. He's rather young to be doing such things, not even old enough to be a Bracer in her world.]

But you really go into a dangerous place like that? Is it normal in your world for people as young as you to do such dangerous jobs?

Yeah? I mean, I guess I'm kinda on the young end probably, but the youngest explorer I've ever seen was probably around twelve.

That just seems so young to be risking your life! I mean, you definitely seem quite capable and I've seen it before where kids end up in dangerous professions but it just feels wrong for you to be risking your life when you're still so young and have so much of your life ahead of you.

This is my life. Besides, I'm the best Alchemist there is!

[Check the ego, kiddo...]

Yeah, it's dangerous, but exploring the Labyrinth has been awesome. Ancient secrets, dangerous monsters, glory and riches... Who wouldn't want adventures like that?

[It's not nearly as glamorous as he's making it sound. Not with everything he's seen and done. But he holds onto the good parts.]

[She does understand, feelings like that were why she wanted to leave the village and become a traveling witch to begin with.

Of course she's probably going to misunderstand what being an Alchemist entails since the type she's familiar with is just another sort of magic.]

All right, I'll stop worrying. I just can't help but think Emma would want me to make sure you stay safe.

[She does smile. Arthur's a good kid and she can see why Emma would become friends with him easily.]

We're the only explorer's who've ever found the bottom of the Labyrinth - there's still more to see down there, but we's faced and beat the toughest thing in there already. As least, I'd hope it was the toughest... Nothing can stop us.

[Except, you know. Maybe a fantasy nuke...]

Isn't the toughest thing usually at the end though? I just hope you'll be careful because there are definitely people who would be sad if something happened to you.

It was at the bottom! We just managed to skip a few floors using a temporary geomagnetic pole!

I'm always careful. [No, you're not.] And my work's not finished until we've cleaned up the rest of the Old World's mess.