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Test Drive: April 2019

Test Drive Meme

Winter

Want to see if your character is a good fit for the setting? Not sure which character concept you want to go for? Or maybe you just want to play around in a meme with no commitment? It's all good! Feel free to use one of the winter-themed prompts below, or write up one of your own with no restrictions!

Blizzard!
The winter storm is a bad one, where it's not safe to be outside for more than a few minutes. The winds are fierce and destructive, the snow is blinding, and it's easy to get lost when everything around you looks exactly the same. Will you stay inside where it's warm and keep your friend company? Or are there too many tasks that can't be ignored just because the weather's a little chilly?

Fun in the Snow
The countryside looks beautiful in winter, with every house and fence and tree cloaked in glittering white snow. It's the perfect kind of day for a real honest-to-goodness sleigh ride. Or maybe you'd prefer to build a snowman. Or maybe that dude over there needs a snowball glued to his face right now and only you can make that happen.

Food Storage Looters
Fall is the season to gather food and prepare for winter. Winter is the season for rest and bonding with friends and family. But not everyone has that kind of foresight. Goblins, for example, get their food by raiding farms and orchards and stealing chickens. The fields are barren and the coops are locked up to keep the chickens nice and warm, so is it really any surprise that the lock to the town food stores is broken, and there's sounds of squabbling and munching and belching coming up from the cellar?

Starry Night
The holiest of all Vallaress holidays. It's a time of feasting and exchanging gifts as anticipation for spring begins to escalate. It's also the most popular time for marriage proposals and weddings! Are you planning to get hitched? Or maybe you're attending the ceremony between two villagers just about to be wed when something interrupts? This is also the one day of the year where monsters are pretty much guaranteed not to attack anyone as they're all struck with a terrible weakness and apathy.

Blighted Snowmen!
Yesterday everyone competed to build the best snow creations. Along with the traditional snowmen, people also made snow bunnies, snow buffalos, and even a snow castle. But a blight sorcerer can't stand the sight of fun, and cast a terrible enchantment that animated each and every one of those snow creatures to come to life! Watch out! Rabid snow castle is lumbering your way!

Magic Lessons: Fire
Almost everyone wants to learn some sort of fire magic during the winter season, whether it's because they ran out of firewood, or because they need a magic flame that won't dim or sputter out when setting up camp during a long journey. Are you a student? A teacher? Or maybe you're just trying to figure out how to cast a self-taught fireball, because there's no way that could end poorly.

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[The person who answers the door is a young lady, probably no older than sixteen. Given that she's wearing a heavy cloak and armed with a bow fashioned of black oak with a quiver of red-feathered arrows, she was just planning to step outside herself.]

[She looks up at the visor of his helmet, then the quest.]

There's some mistake. We didn't post any quests like that...

[But as she takes a closer look at the flyer, she recognizes the handwriting almost right away.]

Rrgh, grandpa... I told him I could handle this without any help. Sorry, but we don't need protection. What reward did he promise you? I'll give you that much at least.

[She steps outside with a huff, closing the door behind her.]

[He doesn't show much reaction when the girl raises her objections to her presence. Only lowering the quest sheet once she's had the chance to look it over.

So her grandfather had posted the quest... likely not wanting her to do exactly what it seems she's planning to do. A wise choice. She's armed well but no armor, arrows that would stand out quite sharply against the snow.]

There is.

[He steps back out of her way politely when she emrges from the house, setting the quest sheet back into a pouch. Apparently not interested in the free money offered him.]

I didn't come here to to protect you. I came here to kill goblins for you.

[She shoots him a sharp look. He'd better not argue about that little detail, because it amounts to the same thing the way she sees it.]

Well I'm telling you not to do either of those things, so you might as well go home. Besides...

[The girl unshoulders her bow, pressing down on the frame to string it swiftly.]

There's no guarantee that we're dealing with goblins at all. And since that's the only thing you care about, you're just going to waste your time.

[... She seems upset about something. Briefly, he wonders what could be the cause of that but dismisses it soon enough. It has nothing to do with him anyway.

At least she seems practiced with her weapon.]

Perhaps not, but it seems likely given the time of year and the information given in the quest.

[He steps forward a little bit, surveying the land before them.]

Were you planning to deal with them yourself?

I'm doing more than planning to deal with them.

[She turns her head to regard him a little more critically this time, noting his armor and demeanor.]

You still really want to get involved? We can't offer a lot. Other than the eggs and the charms I sell, we don't make much in offerings. The thefts hit us hard.

I see....

[It's a low and neutral tone. Thoughtful, even almost distracted but neither dismissive or judgemental. Just an acknowledgement.

He keeps his attention turned to the land around the girl's home. He's not familiar with the site but it seems it could be some kind sacred place? If so, it might end up a target for blighting if the goblins return to a larger force. That would be bad.]

It's fine. [He finally turns back to her, his posture and tone almost relaxed. Professional. Business as usual.] The important thing is that the goblins are dealt with as soon as possible. Right now, they're probably still acting recklessly but if they start to expect resistance they'll be trickier to deal with.

[Her shoulders slump faintly after she sighs. He's really fixated on thinking the culprit has to be goblins, isn't he? Well, he is the resident expert, and she's relaxing a little after he's shown that he has no intention of arguing with her or forcing her to stay quietly at home. Good.]

I can agree with that. I'm not giving them a second chance at stealing our chickens.

[She sets off straight for the chicken coop, circling around it as her eyes sweep back and forth over the snow. Whatever did this was light enough that there aren't any discernible tracks after last night's powder, but there might be other signs. Feathers, possibly, or somewhere the snow might have been disturbed from a bush or tree.]

I'm Raye, by the way. What's your name?

[It's hardly his place to try to lecture her on that, even he recognizes this as he quietly follows her lead to the pilfered chicken coop. If she wants to kill goblins then what business does he have to tell her not to?]

I'm the Goblin Slayer.

[It's an almost offhand remark, delivered as he moves off a few feet to inspect the surroundings. Woods, then a wide patch of open ground and then the chicken coop. Now the pieces connect fully.]

There.

[He points forward, over a patch of untouched snow. At the edge of the treeline there's a patch of bushes without any snow on them as if something had shaken it off by passing by. Meanwhile the branches just a few feet above them remain undisturbed with snow still clinging to them. That settles it, the final piece.]

That's where they're coming from.

They've got a den that close?!

[She'll ignore that complete lack of answer about his name. It's disgusting to think of those nasty little things squirming out of their holes to get at the sleepy little chickens Raye's raised by hand.]

[She steps closer, and immediately a nauseating vibe begins to pulse at the fringes of her senses.]

You're right. I can feel the wrongness of the blight here. It's not strong, but they're definitely around.

[She uses one of her arrows to probe at the bushes, moving branches aside for a better look at what's beyond. If there really is a den, the opening might be goblin sized. She could probably squeeze through, but there's no guarantee she'd come out to a place where she could fight effectively, and there's no way this guy can fit through with that armor.]

[That gets a curious glance in her direction. She can feel the blight? That could prove useful, she might be able to sense the goblins' approach that way. They are, after all, creatures of the blight.]

Yeah. A small one, probably. By the looks of things there aren't any hobs or bugbears with them. [Minimal damage to the surrounding foliage. Indicated smaller creatures passing through and nothing with a hobgoblin's equipment or a bugbear's mass. He assesses the path for another few seconds before... quite suddenly turning and moving back across the snowy ground to the chicken coop.]

I'll need a shovel, some buckets of water, and a broom.

[She furrows her brow at his conclusion, and nods. She's pretty sure she'd feel it hard if there were a bugbear around. While Raye's never encountered one herself, she's heard stories. There's no way something that evil would sneak past her.]

Have you dealt with hobgoblins before? And bugbears?

[She always thought he just concerned himself with the little ones. When he makes his requests, Raye frowns.]

Huh? What for? Can't we just smoke them out and pick them off when they emerge?

[It sounds like he's got some sort of intricate trap in mind. She'll hear him out if it seems good, but she's also instinctively prone to resisting orders from anyone, especially when she's eager to take charge of this quest herself.]

Both. A few times.

[If he felt either of those were present he'd approach this much differently. As it is, it seems this is merely the work of a smaller raiding party. There's always the possibility of either of those types being somewhere out there, but he'll have to investigate that later. For now, best to focus on the task at hand.]

Maybe, but we don't know exactly where their den is and sunset isn't very far away. We'd be at a disadvantage in the dark and they can ambush us if they see us coming. By waiting here, we'll be able to set an ambush.

I see.

[She's pretty sure she could find them just by focusing her senses, but she's a little curious to see what his plan is all about. It's so weird.]

I don't have a shovel, but I can gather the rest easily enough. One of the farmers might have a shovel we can borrow.

[Does he mean to dig with it? The ground is frozen, he'd have to be pretty strong to make much headway. Fortunately for him, he's with someone who can fix that little problem.]

Hmm... that'll take time.

[Time he's in short supply of if he wants to make this plan of his work out. Maybe he should think of something different... take a better stock of his resources and adjust--

... No, wait, he hadn't done that to begin with, had he? His head tilts forward, giving the impression of a frown and he mutters low.]

Too used to working on my own.... [Raising his head again, he speaks louder.] I want to level off the snow and make a layer of ice on the top of it, either by melting just a little or by spreading water across it. DO you have anything that can do that?

[Ah ha, that makes more sense. Something that'll slip them up, it seems.]

Oh, yeah, not a problem. I can melt it with my fire magic, easy!

[She plants a hand on her hip with a confident smile.]

I'll get the broom and some buckets, give me a hand filling them up.

[Raye beckons to him before turning back to the shrine, heading for the small shed that's kept in the rear where she keeps the things she needs to take care of the chickens and the cherry trees.]

I see.

[Fire magic. That could be useful in more ways than simply melting away the ice, it would probably do an even better job of evening out the ground than flattening it out by hand. Assuming she could aim the spell accurately enough.]

Right.

[He follows her around to the shed and sets to work without a word of complaint, filling and carrying buckets of water. In silence unless she sees fit to break it.]

[She doesn't seem inclined to pelt him with small talk, unless 'put that over there' and 'don't kick the fence coop' count. When they've got plenty of water, Raye moves to position herself in between the coop and the area they've picked out for the trap. Fire isn't really great for accuracy, unless she's lighting her arrows and firing them. But a nice big blast aimed at the ground? Not a problem.]

[She rolls up her loose sleeves and raises her palms, concentrating. The magic is always harder to draw upon in the winter, but she can feel the slumbering spirits burrowed deep within the earth, where the heat thrums and surges. Raye draws upon it, feeling the warmth climb her legs and pool in her chest, then flow down her arms to gather in her hands where it swells into bright sparks as the power accumulates.]

Sacred fire...ignite!

[Blasts of raging fire shoot from her open hands with enough intensity to disturb the air, creating a backdraft that ripples her clothing and throws her black hair into wild disarray past her shoulders. The snow melts instantly, peeling back to reveal the frozen earth beneath. The dark patch spreads into an uneven oval, and when it seems big enough, Raye relaxes. The smell of smoke is strong, mingled with the crisp cold air, and she's breathing a little faster, but she's quick to disguise her exertion with a haughty toss of her head.]

How's that? Not too shabby, right?

[They may not but he follows those directions without question or any complaint. Only the occasional acknowledgement as he goes about his work, finally concluding with him standing by while Raye prepares her magic.

He watches impassively as she goes through the motions, not even flinching as the blast of fire erupts from her hands, the light of it flickering off his faceplate but not quite penetrating the grate enough to reveal his face.

As she finishes and gives that hair toss, he walks forward to the circle and stamps a foot down on it and finding it still frozen enough.]

It should work. [It's about as objective a tone and assessment as anyone could manage and without much further fanfare he turns and picks up a bucket to get to work.]

[Raye does the same, planting her feet solidly on the ground as she picks up a bucket and tosses the contents on the bald earth. It'll take a while for the water to freeze over, but they've got weapons if the goblins appear prematurely.]

I'm not sure how long it'll take for this to ice up. What do you want to do in the meantime?

[She turns her head to look at his visored face, unstringing her bow so she doesn't stretch out all the tension and ruin it. A couple of chickens have emerged, drawn out by the familiar sound of Raye's voice. They cluck softly as their small heads jerk with each step until they're at the wire fence.]

[He stands by, looking over the spread water. Seems smooth enough, it'll take time to melt but it won't need to hold much weight anyway. If his own feet break through it, it'll only help his own footing when the time comes.]

Do? [He turns toward her and stands motionless for a long moment, before his head tilts just slightly, as if mulling over something he doesn't quite understand.] I was going to wait.

[It's obvious, right? What else is there to do at this stage?]

We can do that inside for an hour, at least, and watch from a window.

[She kneels down, sticking her finger through the wire fence to stroke the feathers of one of the chickens. No way some mangy goblin is getting its grimy little gross hands one of these birds again!]

I'll make you some tea to warm you up. That armor must be freezing.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Test Drive: April 2019

Test Drive Meme

Winter

House Call

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