Test Drive Meme #004

[khuimods]

KHU IODUAN; TEST DRIVE MEME #004

I. THE OPARA CORE - May I Borrow That? The engineers of the Opara Core facility are always on the lookout for new technology they can adapt into the ever-growing web that provides communications across the archipelago and beyond. Their staff are assembled represent a wide swath of the native races in Konryu whose skills are mechanically-inclined, and of Dreamfolk who've arrived and want to pitch in. Part of their standard operating procedure is to take an interest in tech coming in with the newly arrived Dreamfolk. An excitable female Muin, her bright shock of electrically pink hair and matching, jewel-like eyes alight with a madcap glee, is wheedling for whatever gadget you have on your person. "Please?" she asks for the third time, blinking at you hopefully. "I'll put it back exactly how it was when I'm done. I promise..." II. KIRIN RODEO - Place Your Bets! At the end of every month, the Mounted Division of the Sentry holds their skills competition. When they're not on the field, their steeds are often the subject of much admiration from children and more than a few adults. Astride many breeds of kirin, some lithe and fleet, some stockier and stronger, these off-duty officers demonstrate their control and bond over the notoriously strong-willed and intelligent creatures with complicated maneuvers. There's a surprisingly in-depth system for betting on one's favourite to win the various matches, and just about everyone's willing to explain the odds to newcomers. There's only one rule: all proceeds go to funding of the city's charities. (Bragging rights on winning are still yours to keep.) Two bells ring loudly over the crowd - last call for wagers! III. WE HAVE REGULATIONS ABOUT THIS - Munga on the Loose! Munga are ill-tempered, rat-sized spiky lizards with a gift for camouflage, and whose venom in their spines and teeth is also highly hallucinogenic. And... they're on the loose. Fortunately, keeping them is highly regulated, and pretty much everyone in Aifaran knows about them, but loose Munga are uncommon enough that the reaction is more likely to be startled flailing at a hint of spines and skittering. Today someone's exotic pet has slipped out of their hands, and it's trailing a harness and lead as it zigzags away, prickling and hissing and going for the ankles. It's given a wide berth, except by those who don't notice until it's too late or those too preoccupied by something else. Hopefully the proper authorities have been notified to catch and return the creature, but maybe someone helpful can keep it from getting too far away? IV. KNOWLEDGE IS PRECIOUS - Accosted By Monks The Tariken monks are out in full force today, their orange and green robes making them easy to spot in a crowd, and there's a high chance you might be approached by one. Their sect values knowledge above everything else, so recording information from Dreamfolk, who are transient to Konryu, is something they see as imperative. Some of the questions are standard ("what's the name of your world? is it anything like Konryu? do have have any special position there?") but sometimes they move into stranger territory, like what's your favourite bath soap scent and how many times you wear your socks before washing them -- all of which are asked with the most studious attentiveness, just in case your answer holds the secret to the multiverse. V. INTO THE UNKNOWN - Watch Your Back Out There The sea patrol discovered the new irregularity a few days ago, reporting that it looks like a series of tall and jagged stone towers rising up from the ocean. It's incomplete as these planar-shunted locations often are, as if something massive had taken a bite of some mysterious city and then spat it whole into the seas of Konryu. Having been chosen as part of the exploration team, you've been working your way through the complicated labyrinth of stone tunnels and dead ends, searching for what the Opara engineers had enthusiastically described as a potential new power source. "Trace the green glowing power lines," was their (sort of helpful) instruction. However the lean, dark and toothy thing you've just glimpsed should probably be a more pressing concern... warn others? Take it on yourself? Pray it hasn't spotted you? VI. WILDCARD - Because You're Not The Boss Of Me Anything else that doesn't fit the above prompts is welcome, just keep it within the game setting please! Applications • Reservations • Taken List • Game Navigation

Comments

[afoolsgold]

[The Fool offers out his arm so that Bigby might take it if he needs to.] Just this way. North, [he adds wryly,] if you possess a natural sense for such things.

[He leads the disoriented man the few spaces between the road and the chair and, after reaching out nimbly to tug the chair out from beneath the table, helps direct him into it.] A glass of water, please, thank you, [he says to someone else--likely one of the servers at the cafe where he has been passing time, then turns his attention back to Bigby.]

I suspect you have a bit of the creature's venom in your system, [he begins patiently,] but the effects are only temporary. [He thinks.]

[bigandnotsobad]

[ Bigby does take his arm. His senses were already sharp, so heightening them to the degree the munga did means everything is just a painful, intense blur. He buries his face in his hands, trying to drown it out. ]

The... hell are kids doing with venomous lizards?

[ After what seemed like an eternity of overstimulation, Bigby slumps back and tries to catch his breath. There's beads of sweat all over his forehead, but he seems to be fine. Blinks as he processes his surroundings. He looks at The Fool properly now. ] ...Uh, thanks for all that. [ Should he say something else? ] Name's Bigby.

[afoolsgold]

Oh, you know the old truism, [said airily, gesturing with one hand,] one man's foe is another man's friend. Or something of that nature. It is called a munga, I believe.

[When Bigby regains his faculties, he'll find the Fool regarding him with mild bemusement, having reclaimed his mug of tea. As soon as he's well enough to make introductions, the Fool pointedly slides the cool glass of water towards him across the table.] For you, [he says simply.

As for his own introduction,] Very well, Bigby. I am called the Fool.