A whole new world

[aestrix]

There is a forest that likes to pretend that it's ordinary. It isn't, it's quite bizarre. Every night, in fact, zombies and other horrible monsters swarm this place, looking for people to kill. Not that they've found anyone, the forest itself is quite empty of residents. But they search anyway, during the night, shambling and groaning and occasionally leaving body parts lying around. Those disappear pretty quickly, but it still happens. Then the day comes, and they depart to who knows where, swearing (if mindless monsters could think, or in fact swear to anything in particular) that they'l be back the next night. Repeat ad nauseum.

It's currently in the day portion of this cycle of directionless attempts at violence. Maybe this day will be different from all of the others.

But then, probably not, it's a very boring island without anyone here.

Comments

[aestrix]

That is probably best. A slightly overripe fruit would be better at surviving the night, because at least the fruit wouldn't open the door to let the creatures in.

At least her house is free of the door opening menace.

[greatestgift]

So she can curl up and go to sleep in it. Hooray.

[aestrix]

Yep! The horrible monsters outside will sing her a lullaby of their people. It goes sort of like: Bang, bang, scratch, claw groan groan bang, scratch scratch bang. Truly inspired.

Predictably, the cacophony has stopped the next morning. Back to idyllic bliss! And bunnies. Exploding bunnies.

[greatestgift]

Sable gets up, unblocks Dylan's door, stomps in, and wordlessly shows him the sparkly thing that fell from the sky.

[aestrix]

"Stars fall all over the world at night. They can be used for all sorts of useful things. If you see one, be sure to grab it because they disappear after sunrise," he says.

[greatestgift]

"It's after sunrise now," she points out.

[aestrix]

"If you gather 5 fallen stars, they can be combined to create an item that will increase your magic capacity."

This is going to be one of those times where he just fails to answer her question.

[greatestgift]

"My magic capacity?"

[aestrix]

Slow blink. Vacant smile. "Stars fall all over the world at night. They can be used for all sorts of useful things."

[greatestgift]

"UGH."

She puts the star back into her pack and stomps out. Maybe today she'll explore the surface instead of hunting for ore.

[aestrix]

She is entirely free to do so! Technically she's free to do whatever she likes in this land. It's just some of her available choices are likely to be deadly.

[greatestgift]

So far daytime has been mostly safe. She keeps her groundsense open, but only to a range of about thirty feet.

[aestrix]

There's a lot of island to explore!

There turns out to be a desert, close to the forest. It starts rather abruptly. There are cacti.

[greatestgift]

She tries cutting down a cactus to see what it turns into.

[aestrix]

It turns into a bunch of tiny, slightly pointy little cactus squares! Well, one little cactus square, it consolidates. The needles are very dull for cactus needles - the uncubed version's much more dangerous.

[greatestgift]

They're probably useful for something. She collects cactus squares on her way through the desert.

[aestrix]

The cactus squares have no comment on being collected. If they did, it would likely be, "Oh god, the destroyer of cacti is coming, run for your lives fellow Cactaceae, if you can in fact run along with commenting on various subjects! She's coming because we are probably useful for something!"

At some point, she gets a pink and slightly prickly pear along with the ordinary cactus.

[greatestgift]

Maybe the pear is also useful. It goes in her pack with everything else.

[aestrix]

The pear has no comment on being collected, either. Not even a, "Oh god, you killed my family, you killed my family you monster!"

Soon Sable runs out of desert! Now it is forest again. Hooray!

[greatestgift]

This place is intensely weird.

[aestrix]

Yep!

And it's about to get weirder.

Ahead is something... Purple.

[greatestgift]

...That is not even a recognizable type of landscape. She expands her groundsense to full range, wincing, and focuses on the purple place.

[aestrix]

It feels evil.

More than evil, actually, it feels sick. Like the earth itself is diseased and corrupted and wrong. But the wrongness is alive, and it could very definitely spread if given half a chance. Fortunately, it has exactly zero of a chance, because it can't seem to get through solid stone, only grass. The landscape is not entirely grass, and thus the sickness can't spread. It's - contained. Dubiously, dubiously contained.

Also the sickness very strongly hates her and wants her to die. How nice.

[greatestgift]

Ow.

Her groundsense snaps shut instinctively, and she clings to a tree to avoid falling over, muttering curses under her breath. Blighted crazy cube world with its blighted crazy purple death dirt. Ugh ugh ugh.

[aestrix]

The blighted crazy purple death dirt hates her too.

Obligingly, the tree holds her up. It does not hate her. It is a tree, it doesn't feel anything in particular about the situation.