Cloudsea - The Chronicle of Alice Van Vaugen

" . . . "

Alice wandered through the ruins of town. It occurred to her she never knew the name of the town or the island she lived on. She looked up. The sign of the bakery she was headed to that night still hung there. The building was partially collapsed, but looking inside, she can see that the interior wasn't too badly damaged. She dug in her pocket, and pulled out a piece of chalk. She scrawled a circle on the wall by the doorway, and kept walking. Alice wasn't sure what bothered her more: The fact that she couldn't find any bodies... or the fact that she couldn't find any evidence people even died here. No blood. No remains. Of course, in the couple of building she checked, there were signs that they LIVED here... Recently even. But...

" . . . ce . . . lice. . . . Alice!"

Alice whipped around to find Qhen almost right in her face.

"Haaa~ Hi, Qhen. I zoned out, I'm guessing. Find anything on your end of things?"

"Houses. Stores. Businesses. Empty. No bodies. I've been taking notes in that journal you gave me... I located some supplies that we could use. Marked them down."

Qhen looked around.

"You're... alright, right?"

Alice sighed. She looked around and saw a bench. She wandered over and sat down, and Qhen stood nearby, surveying the street, just in case.

"I don't know? It's weird. I've lived here my entire life... But I didn't really know anybody here. I went as far as I needed to go in order to get the things I wanted. It was easier to pay a store to send someone to pick up something I needed that was being sold elsewhere. I rarely went beyond the first couple of streets near my house. These people... didn't really exist for me. Even that place."

Alice gestured at the bakery. Qhen looked at it, then back to Alice.

"I loved going there. But I can't recall the owner's name."

" . . . I know you're having a moment- but..."

"No, don't worry about it. If we're going to resort to looting these buildings, I will have all the time in the world to indulge my self-flagellation. What's up?"

"Earlier, when you sent me off to go do a run through town, listening for anybody or anything, I took a detour."

"... They weren't there, huh?"

Qhen blinked. They reach into their cloak, and pulled out a large tube on a small wooden handle.

"They left me a note, and this flare. Your clock still works, and provided that it and the ship's clock was set to the same time... They'll check back late tonight."

"Mm."

". . . You're not gonna come with, are you?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. I think..."

Alice stands up. She looks at Qhen, and pats them on the shoulder.

"... I need some time to think. If the time comes, and I'm not at the house... Just- There's probably not much reason for you to stick around here."

Qhen goes to say something, but Alice looks at them, and they close their mouth. Alice wanders away. Qhen mutters something under their breath at her back, and she ignores it.

( You don't actually intend to abandon Qhen, and I don't think I need to tell you that they don't plan on leaving you here. )

"Why not? We barely know each other. I caught them breaking into my house, then I blacked out- then we fought, then I bound the Muse in their heart to the Void Manifest. Unlike you and I- They are not bound to stick around. They benefit from it, but the downsides..."

( . . . Are you alright, Alice of Vaugen? )

"OF COURSE NOT! They're all GONE! Everybody! All these people! Without a trace! I don't know what happened to them!

( But you were talking about how you barely knew them. Do you feel that strongly about them...? )

"That doesn't MATTER! It doesn't matter. They were people. Families. Friends. Partners. Siblings. Pets. Young. Old. They didn't deserve this, did they?"

( I have no way to know that, Alice of Vaugen. I know only about the things I know about... and what I now know is that you have a fair amount of compassion. You said they were taken without a trace, correct? Maybe they are still alive. )

"... That's really nice of you to say, but unless I imagined those monsters, or the terrible scar in my chest... I'm pretty sure they're gone. If I find some evidence to otherwise, sure..."

Alice stopped walking. She turned.

". . . Your name is Empty?"

( Yes. )

"Why do I know that?"

( You are opening up to me. Like I said. The more we share, the close we become, metaphorically. I apologize. )

"Oh... Whatever. ... I should... probably..."

( ) Go check more of the town
( ) Start collecting supplies
( ) Go check the airship docks
( ) Go wander the forest
( ) Check the Spring Fountain
( ) Talk to Qhen
( ) Go looking for that ice cream. That seems like a good way to apologize to Qhen. (Edited In)
( ) Talk to Empty some More