[ OPEN ] ❝ you are a stranger here, why have you come ❞

[punshots]

Who: Prompto (punshots) + YOU
What: Questing and helping deserters.
When: January!
Where: Wyver and nearby quest locations
Warning(s): N/A for now!


I. TOMB RAIDER (QUEST: DISTURBING THE DEAD).

[ Don't worry. He's played video games.

...And, you know, has a fair amount of experience spelunking in real life, too, but that somehow seems secondary to everything he's learned about tomb-raiding from video games. Is he bound to booby right into some booby traps? Undoubtedly. But that's why he brought someone along with him! To be a second pair of eyes when he gets a bit too Prompto about things.

At the unassuming entrance to the crypt - unassuming if you use a freakin' ton of human skulls in your decorating, anyway - Prompto turns to his companion, clicking on the flashlight clipped to his vest. He also has a whip, despite not knowing how to really use it, because of course he does. ]

Remember - idols? Don't touch 'em, especially if they're on pedestals. If you see any giant boulders, run. Just - run. Oh - and if you see anything diamond-shaped, for the love of the Six, definitely - I repeat, definitely do not step on it.

[ Boy, he sure sounds like an expert, doesn't he? ]

...After you!

[ Or not. ]

II. THE CRYSTAL SHARDS (QUEST: PREACHING IN A MATERIAL WORLD).

[ Whatever man, this guy likes his shiny pieces of rock, he's not one to judge. Compared to most of the other jobs, this one seems relatively safe and, uh, legal, which makes it an immediate draw for him. He's a decent enough swimmer, too, so it should be a piece of cake!

Unfortunately, he's woefully uneducated about the enchanted pools the crystal drops are found in, so he doesn't give it a second thought as he strips down to his underwear and dives deep down into one of the many lagoons outside of Wyver to scoop up the coveted gems.

If he's down there a little longer than should be normal for a human, don't worry - that's normal (thanks, Volkkran Pact). However, that only gives more time for the enchanted waters to really get to him, and...boy, are they getting to him.

When Prompto resurfaces to dump an armful of crystal shards onto the ground, he pushes his mop of wet hair out of his eyes - and that's when he at last notices he is not alone. ]

How long've you been here?

[ Rather pointedly, nowhere near his usual warm disposition. Huh, weird. ]

III. TOUGH TO BEAR (LATER JANUARY).

[ With citizens on every corner calling for a move against Olympia, the city has gotten juuuuust a bit much to handle lately, and when he catches wind about the deserters from some gossipy guards, Prompto decides it's time to take a little day-trip outside Wyver proper to see what it's like for those neutrally aligned himself. Fuck the popo, those people are in need and if he can do something to help, he's going to.

And he's gonna get there on a bear, because he can.

He spends a good chunk of change cleaning out some vendors in the market one morning before loading up his mount's saddlebags with food and medicinal herbs before traveling to some of the neutral camps east of the city. He may have asked a close friend to come along with him, or maybe he bumps into a fellow refugee once there. Either way, he complains as he dismounts: ]

Man, that was unbearably boring! Nothin' but trees, trees, 'n' more trees...

[ Yes, even on a bear, traveling is still dull. Then, with a nod: ]

You gonna give me a hand with this?

[ Or, perhaps, you encounter him later on in the evening, after he's stayed too long helping the refugees and his mount is now beginning to become unruly. The bear starts to snarl discontentedly while Prompto pats its neck in a futile effort to calm it. ]

Th-there, there, Fuzzby! Just a bit - whoa -

[ Watch as he attempts to hold onto his saddle while the bear tries to buck him. Should be quite the spectacle. Or help him, perhaps, if you are so inclined. ]

IV. WILDCARD.

[ Have something else you'd like to do with Prompto this month? Hit me up at retroscape! I'm happy to set up closed starters for more particular plans as well! ]

Comments

[meinwaifu]

Because if there's anything a man like myself would honor, it would be a deal such as this. I never go back on my promises-- or have you forgotten the last time we made such a deal? I came through with the silver I promised, didn't I? Even though it would have been a simple matter to walk away and let you assume I was only using you.

[Okay, he was using him either way, but at least he got paid for it.]

Ah, but in the interest of fairness, I suppose we should decide what I would get if you fail to detect my presence. Just what would you be willing to offer, I wonder?

[punshots]

[ Prompto is the opposite of a pessimist, but it's hard even for him to look for the silver lining in all this. How long until the conflict turns to war? And what could they hope to do about it? He's not a leader himself, and he's not really sure who to turn to to carve a path to make things right.

Is it, inevitable, then?

It's hard to not think it is, passing out apples to a group of young children who look like they might not have eaten for days. ]

Right. Aaaand I don't think anyone would vote for a bigger threat. [ A low sort of chuckle. ] Guess the best we can do it just...be ready for it if it comes.

[ When it comes. ]

[punshots]

Got it.

[ So, still gripping that spear, Prompto steps towards the left passage, casting a glance at the walls in case there's a sign of any trip wire or other trap. They've done pretty well so far of not boobying into a booby trap, but if one of them is going to set one off, he knows he has a tendency to...kind of get himself in that kind of trouble.

So, being extra cautious. He stands and assesses for a moment, before glancing back at Duo. ]

Nope, no breeze here, far as I can tell. You?

[punshots]

Uhuh, suuure you did!

[ ... ]

...Did you?

[punshots]

[ It doesn't actually sound that stupid, even considering their little brush with death back there, and Prompto is still shaking the dust and rock bits loose from his hair. But that does kinda follow video game logic, which Prompto thinks is totally applicable in a situation like this. Sometimes you have to set off a trap to end up where you actually want to be.

So, yeah, they can go with that. Whether or not that's the case, he has no trouble buying it for Yu's sake. ]

Hah! Maybe so! I guess we've found our way forward.

[ ...Or towards worse traps, but there's only one way to find out! Prompto starts for the boulder-bridge. ]

[originallutece]

[She glances over at him with a little smile, self-satisfied and a little mean.]

Oh, yes.

Our funeral photographer did a horrid job on both of us. And we needed someone to know who murdered us. Why not kill two birds with one stone?

[centurian]

[ Garrus laughs, maybe a little more bitter than he'd like it to be. he wasn't really looking for a war, particularly not one he wasn't invested in at all. ]

I don't know. It might be kinda fun. Imagine fighting one of those giant dragons. Saving both cities and having everyone forget about their problems.

[ a pause. ]

I think I had a dream like that, once. When the fighting breaks out, hopefully there will be enough people to defend these guys.

[ because that was what he was really worried about. ]

[braidedwonder]

[ Duo trails right, leaning close to the wall just in case anything comes flinging his way or something. Since he floor was trying to fall out from under them he's definitely being a bit more cautious, creeping closer and listening down the tunnel. He doesn't hear anything, but -

There's a faint glimmer down the passage way, almost like a very thin string or.. maybe his eyes playing tricks on him. The light is low enough that it could possibly go either way, and he's squinting trying to make sure, either way, what is going on over there. A more reckless part of him wants to approach, maybe find something to throw that could break the little thread. It could also just be a spider, but some part of him just... wants to be sure.

At least until Prompto speaks, snapping him out of it, turning to him to curiously listen to what he has to say, nodding in confirmation that he's heard him, but then points down his own tunnel. ]

Take a look at this, will ya? Not sure if it's just a spider thread or .. like an actual trip wire or just my head.