Re: Grand Battle S3G1! (Round Three: Caelo Ruinam)
03-24-2012, 03:29 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Anomaly.
Tengeri froze. According to her scanner, there were signs of life just fifteen meters off, though what these signs indicated was ambiguous at best, possibly due to some sort of interference. She floated through the corridor as quietly as possible, though water tends to not be the quietest of things to surround oneself with at all times. This probably wasn't a good idea, but then again, it could have been another of her fellow battlers (hopefully someone like Tor rather than Scofflaw). And maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to find a way out.
At three meters, Tengeri stopped. The life form was apparently directly behind a stone wall, though no door was immediately visible. Scanning for a method of entry, Tengeri eventually gave up on her scanner and extended a manipulator to tap on the wall.
She ended up going through.
An extremely nondescript man in equally generic clothing stood behind a counter, a number of items lining the shelves behind him. Tengeri couldn't discern what most of the items were beyond weapons with highly unusual properties and vials filled with unknown liquids, among other things. It was probably all overpriced though, given the exorbitant amounts of what seemed to be gold coins required for the purchase of any and all items.
"...Uh. Are you... are you a hero?" the man questioned, obviously extremely confused.
"...What do you mean by hero?" It was an awfully vague term.
"You know, hero of legend? Come here to defeat the bad guy, save the world, etc.? You're saying you're not one?"
"Um, sorry. I'm not sure exactly why you would think that. Is this a common thing?"
The man sighed. "Yeah... It only happens basically every year. That's how I stay in business, you know. How'd you get in here, anyway? You're supposed to have to use an artifact like the Lens of Revelation to find the entrance."
"I guess I just stumbled in? What do you do if the 'bad guy' happens to show up instead of these heroes you're going on about?"
"It's one of the perks of being a shopkeeper, you know. You get to set up shop in the most remote and dangerous places and no one will stop you."
"That's another thing. How did you get a shop into a flying fortress in the first place? Doesn't seem like you'd get much business here."
"Look, I told you, shopkeep. I can go anywhere that heroes are likely to be, and I can sell them things at overinflated prices to earn a profit. It's not like they can go to any other shops before they've brought down the fortress, after all!" The shopkeep laughed, although Tengeri wasn't exactly sure what was funny about all of this. It didn't make all that much sense, honestly.
She then came to a realization. "So you have some kind of teleportation device that lets you do this?"
"I suppose you could call it that. Kind of a vague term, but it's basically the same. Why?"
"I'm trying to find a way off of the fortress. Actually I'm looking for a way back home, but home isn't even in this universe. I don't suppose you have anything that could help me with that."
"Another universe, eh? Tell me, how did you end up here?"
"Some kind of interdimensional godlike being sent me here with eight others. Only seven of us left now, though. Each time one of us dies, we're sent off somewhere else."
"Sounds pretty standard. But you're in luck! Killing gods and demons alike happens to be the purpose of this equipment here! I can even enchant a weapon you already possess, but it'll cost you quite a few gilderupees for that."
"...Right, gilderupees. I don't suppose I can just find those lying around."
"Actually, sometimes you can! Or, if you find something else interesting, you can sell it to me, no questions asked. And by the way, if you meet the real legendary heroes, tell them that Lancelot Mortimer Veritas Garland is offering deals on magical weapons, potions, and more!"
"Right. Thanks."
Tengeri phased back through the wall. Well, this was just great. She now had to search a massive fortress for items of value or for random money lying around in order to buy something that had a very slim chance of actually damaging the Fool. It seemed kind of unlikely, but at this point she really didn't have much to lose.
Tengeri froze. According to her scanner, there were signs of life just fifteen meters off, though what these signs indicated was ambiguous at best, possibly due to some sort of interference. She floated through the corridor as quietly as possible, though water tends to not be the quietest of things to surround oneself with at all times. This probably wasn't a good idea, but then again, it could have been another of her fellow battlers (hopefully someone like Tor rather than Scofflaw). And maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to find a way out.
At three meters, Tengeri stopped. The life form was apparently directly behind a stone wall, though no door was immediately visible. Scanning for a method of entry, Tengeri eventually gave up on her scanner and extended a manipulator to tap on the wall.
She ended up going through.
An extremely nondescript man in equally generic clothing stood behind a counter, a number of items lining the shelves behind him. Tengeri couldn't discern what most of the items were beyond weapons with highly unusual properties and vials filled with unknown liquids, among other things. It was probably all overpriced though, given the exorbitant amounts of what seemed to be gold coins required for the purchase of any and all items.
"...Uh. Are you... are you a hero?" the man questioned, obviously extremely confused.
"...What do you mean by hero?" It was an awfully vague term.
"You know, hero of legend? Come here to defeat the bad guy, save the world, etc.? You're saying you're not one?"
"Um, sorry. I'm not sure exactly why you would think that. Is this a common thing?"
The man sighed. "Yeah... It only happens basically every year. That's how I stay in business, you know. How'd you get in here, anyway? You're supposed to have to use an artifact like the Lens of Revelation to find the entrance."
"I guess I just stumbled in? What do you do if the 'bad guy' happens to show up instead of these heroes you're going on about?"
"It's one of the perks of being a shopkeeper, you know. You get to set up shop in the most remote and dangerous places and no one will stop you."
"That's another thing. How did you get a shop into a flying fortress in the first place? Doesn't seem like you'd get much business here."
"Look, I told you, shopkeep. I can go anywhere that heroes are likely to be, and I can sell them things at overinflated prices to earn a profit. It's not like they can go to any other shops before they've brought down the fortress, after all!" The shopkeep laughed, although Tengeri wasn't exactly sure what was funny about all of this. It didn't make all that much sense, honestly.
She then came to a realization. "So you have some kind of teleportation device that lets you do this?"
"I suppose you could call it that. Kind of a vague term, but it's basically the same. Why?"
"I'm trying to find a way off of the fortress. Actually I'm looking for a way back home, but home isn't even in this universe. I don't suppose you have anything that could help me with that."
"Another universe, eh? Tell me, how did you end up here?"
"Some kind of interdimensional godlike being sent me here with eight others. Only seven of us left now, though. Each time one of us dies, we're sent off somewhere else."
"Sounds pretty standard. But you're in luck! Killing gods and demons alike happens to be the purpose of this equipment here! I can even enchant a weapon you already possess, but it'll cost you quite a few gilderupees for that."
"...Right, gilderupees. I don't suppose I can just find those lying around."
"Actually, sometimes you can! Or, if you find something else interesting, you can sell it to me, no questions asked. And by the way, if you meet the real legendary heroes, tell them that Lancelot Mortimer Veritas Garland is offering deals on magical weapons, potions, and more!"
"Right. Thanks."
Tengeri phased back through the wall. Well, this was just great. She now had to search a massive fortress for items of value or for random money lying around in order to buy something that had a very slim chance of actually damaging the Fool. It seemed kind of unlikely, but at this point she really didn't have much to lose.