Journey to Vicinity
[X] Take the long path.
You're not in any particular hurry, so you amble down the long path. It's a hard trip with the heavy backpack on your shoulders, but you manage not to slip on any rocks on the way. You were given some tools that wouldn't look out of place down here, but did they have to be so heavy?
The view from up here is fantastic; you realize as you walk far enough that the nearby hills are no longer obscuring your vision. You even spot some moving squiggles in the distant river that you assume to be bathers.
It's the middle of the day when you get to the bridge, yet there is not a soul in sight when you cross it. Where are all the people? You should be halfway to Vicinity by now…
You see your first earthlings up close when you finally reach the edge of Vicinity an hour later. Farmers for the most part, they give you some measuring looks as you pass, but nobody confronts you. You do hear one of them say something about foreigners to another. They all seem to be in a strangely good mood though.
It is at the crossroads in the center of the town when it hits you that you're not sure where to go in order to get a job at the Heim mines. The signpost in front of you only gives directions to the nearby villages and to the city of Nocis, the capital of Inglessa.
Glancing around, you spot a harmless-looking elderly man smoking a pipe. Perfect. You had to start talking with one eventually.
"Um…excuse me, sir." He quirks an eyebrow when you start talking to him. "May I ask you a question?"
The old man doesn't say anything at first, starting intently at you. He seems to be contemplating something while idly puffing on his pipe. A pair of primitive cars enter the town, they'll be driving past you in a minute or so.
"I don't recognize you accent, youngster. Where you from?"
It takes you an instant to understand what he is saying. "Elsewhere." You tell him. Maybe not the best answer to give, judging from the way he gapes.
"What?" He says, barely catching his pipe before it falls. "Really? How old are you, kid?"
"F-fifteen…" Is this a cultural thing? Does the word for 'elsewhere' also mean something else?
"Fifteen? I…when did you get it into your head to leave 'Elsewhere'?"
"Two years ago, but-"
"Two years he says…" He shakes his head, his eyes distant. "White Doll, what could you possibly have done-"
BANG!
The first car comes to a halt, smoke billowing from its hood. The passengers, a man, a woman, and a girl, who to your utter shock looks just like Queen Dianna, hurriedly exit as the second car stops right behind them.
A man in a blue uniform, probably the driver, gets out of the front seat of the first car and opens the hood, getting a cloud of smoke in his face for his efforts.
This isn't something that happens often, the people around you are too shocked for that. Some have walked up to the passengers, asking them if they're alright.
You excuse yourself from the conversation with the old man and walk over to the broken down car. The driver brought some sort of suitcase with him, opening it to reveal some basic tools and a few spare parts. Not that they do him any good: Even with the smoke dissipated he is still staring dumbly at the damaged motor, to his employer's consternation.
The girls see you approach before the adults, who you assume are their parents, eyeing you warily as you walk up to the man in an expensive suit, their father. You cough, drawing his attention and that of his wife onto yourself.
"Excuse me for intruding, but do you need a hand? I have some knowledge of engines and machinery." You take of your backpack and unpack your tools, holding them for the suited man to inspect.
The man is rather displeased, not at you, that is, but at the accident. He and his family must be in a hurry. His hands clench on the handle of his cane, but he calms down right before addressing you. "It cannot hurt. Thank you, young man."
You nod at him, leaving your backpack to lean against a nearby house before walking over to stand beside the driver. He steps aside after handing you the suitcase, joining the family to give you enough space to work in. the engine is still smoking, but it is barely noticeable. At least the driver had enough presence of mind to turn the thing off before he tried to fix it.
A glance at what's under the hood tells you one thing instantly: "I've never seen this model before. The engine, I mean." You admit. Their faces fall, the father muttering a word you do not recognize.
You don't want to disappoint them, and the underlying principles should be the same…
*
It only takes a minute to figure out how the engine is put together and how it is supposed to function, and from there your repairs are done without a hitch.
"Here's the culprit." You say as you hold out a small chunk of twisted metal that used to be a part. It got damaged by the heat and that tore into another part when it broke, causing the car to break down. When you got down to it, all you really did was replace the broken part with a spare from the suitcase and then apply a patch job to the parts that it damaged.
The wife's eyes widen. "Dear," she addresses her husband "Didn't this very thing happen to the Mitchells last year?"
"It did." He agrees before nodding at the driver. "Try to start it now."
You feel a not small amount of pride when the engine starts with no problems, the car evenly vibrating as the driver takes it for a short test drive. The girl that looks so much like Queen Dianna that it frightens you looks extremely relieved at the sight.
"Young man."
You turn back to the man even as you wipe your hands with a rag retrieved from your backpack. "Yes, sir?"
"You are not from around here are you?" The other girl is openly studying you pacing around you as if you take the sight of you in from all angles.
"No sir. I came here looking for work."
"I see."
You glance around. The old man you were speaking to earlier seems to have wandered off, so you decide to ask the suited man instead. "Sir, could you please tell me where I need to go to get a job the Heim Mines? I can't seem to find it."
The other girl snickers from behind you, what's with her?
The man grins. "I am Mr. Heim."
…Oh.
His grin shrinks into a small smile as he studies you a bit closer. "Say…my personal mechanic is in need of an assistant, would you be interested?"
"Yessir!" You tell Mr. Heim, who chuckles a little at your outburst.
"Good. However, we will need to discuss the details tomorrow. Tonight's Ceremony will take up the rest of the day." He adds 'and most of the night' under his breath before asking you your name and if you have a place to stay.
"My name is Loran Cehack, sir, and I don't have anywhere to stay at the moment."
"That so?" He points at the driver's section of the car you just fixed. "Then you might as well accompany us. Sit with the driver, your backpack will need to stay in the other car."
You don't really want to offend the man offering you a job, so you accept his offer. Though you don't really like how the younger girl is eyeing your backpack when you leave it with her. The drive to this ceremony they're talking about takes a little more than an hour, giving you the chance to ask some questions of Mr. Heim.
"Um…Sir?"
"Yes, young man?"
"When I arrived in Vicinity, I got a rather odd reaction from a man I was asking directions from when I mentioned I was from 'Elsewhere'. I said it because I don't like discussing it, but is there a second meaning to the word?"
Mr. Heim blinks at you while his wife and eldest daughter struggle not to laugh. He snorts and shakes his head. "A local series of old penny dreadfuls used the phrase 'being from Elsewhere' to mean 'I'm on the run from powerful people'. The old goat must have confused them for reality."
Huh. That explains the old man's reaction
*
You try not to eavesdrop on their conversation as the two cars draw closer to an odd building at the foot of a mountain. The sun is setting by the time you exit the car, the older daughter being led away by Mrs. Heim in to the building while Mr. Heim goes to speak with some other men. This place has gathered quite the crowd.
Someone sniffs behind you, it's the younger sister. "I don't believe you."
What? "What are you-hey!" That's your toy fish she's holding! "Give that back!"
She brandishes the red toy like a sword. "Answer my questions first!"
You don't answer her, you're too busy restraining yourself from lunging at her, so she goes on right ahead. "You said you've never seen the kind of engine that's in Daddy's car, but you fixed so easily!"
"It works on the same principles as the engines I'm used to, so it wasn't all that hard after I had a good look at it. And I didn't really fix it; I just replaced a broken part and patched up the rest of the damage." You told Mr. Heim that he needed to see a mechanic with the proper equipment and facilities at the earliest opportunity to get it repaired properly, but this girl wasn't in the car at the time.
"Sochie!" You and the girl turn in the direction of the building. The older sister is walking towards you, wearing a robe colored white on one side and blue on the other, as well as a floral wreath on her head. "Give that back this instant!"
You can't help but stare a little; she looks even more like the Queen when wearing white.
The younger sister, Sochie, sullenly hands your fish back. You thank them both.
"We haven't been introduced." The older sister gestures towards herself. "My name is Kihel Heim."
You stand up a bit straighter and take your hat off. "I'm Loran Cehack."
Sochie is still pouting. "Sochie Heim." She mumbles halfheartedly.
As the sun slowly vanishes beneath the horizon you're left with Sochie. Apparently this whole thing is a Coming of Age ceremony for the local youths, both boys and girls. You ask Sochie if she's going to attend tonight.
"Of course not." She tells you as if you were an idiot. "I'm fifteen, so it'll be my turn in two years."
"We're the same age then." You respond. This seems to surprise her for some reason, but you're interrupted when a small horde of young adults, all of them in white robes like the one Kihel wore, burst out of the strange building. They're all singing a song in a language you don't recognize while waving torches or carrying a platform with a statue of a man with a strange feathered headdress on it. Kihel is also on the platform, her back pressed up against the statue's chest.
An elbow pokes into your side. "Stop staring at my sister." Sochie demands angrily.
"Sorry, it's just." You shrug helplessly. "She just looks like someone I know and look up to, the resemblance is uncanny."
You don't think she believes you, but she lets the matter lie.
Suddenly Kihel spreads her arms, laying her hands into those of the wooden statue. "Take me to the White Doll!"
The robed and singing youths around her lift the platform again before marching along a well-worn trail that leads up the mountain.
"Sochie?"
"Hm? Yes?"
"What's the 'White Doll'?"
"You don't know?" She seems shocked, but she recovers quickly. "Wait, of course you don't. You're foreign." She takes a deep breath before beginning her lecture:
"The White Doll is a legendary giant…"
(Choice determines the condition of the White Doll's systems)
[] Whose strength tore its enemies apart with a million arrows!
[] Whose shield and armor were made of light, turning even the mightiest blows as harmless as rain!
[] Whose trickery let it walk unseen, see through all falsehoods, and change the nature of whatever battle it fought!
[] Whose wings and chariot let it outspeed the Sun itself!
[] Whose Spirit tore through its own skin, allowing it to touch the hearts of all mankind!
You're not in any particular hurry, so you amble down the long path. It's a hard trip with the heavy backpack on your shoulders, but you manage not to slip on any rocks on the way. You were given some tools that wouldn't look out of place down here, but did they have to be so heavy?
The view from up here is fantastic; you realize as you walk far enough that the nearby hills are no longer obscuring your vision. You even spot some moving squiggles in the distant river that you assume to be bathers.
It's the middle of the day when you get to the bridge, yet there is not a soul in sight when you cross it. Where are all the people? You should be halfway to Vicinity by now…
You see your first earthlings up close when you finally reach the edge of Vicinity an hour later. Farmers for the most part, they give you some measuring looks as you pass, but nobody confronts you. You do hear one of them say something about foreigners to another. They all seem to be in a strangely good mood though.
It is at the crossroads in the center of the town when it hits you that you're not sure where to go in order to get a job at the Heim mines. The signpost in front of you only gives directions to the nearby villages and to the city of Nocis, the capital of Inglessa.
Glancing around, you spot a harmless-looking elderly man smoking a pipe. Perfect. You had to start talking with one eventually.
"Um…excuse me, sir." He quirks an eyebrow when you start talking to him. "May I ask you a question?"
The old man doesn't say anything at first, starting intently at you. He seems to be contemplating something while idly puffing on his pipe. A pair of primitive cars enter the town, they'll be driving past you in a minute or so.
"I don't recognize you accent, youngster. Where you from?"
It takes you an instant to understand what he is saying. "Elsewhere." You tell him. Maybe not the best answer to give, judging from the way he gapes.
"What?" He says, barely catching his pipe before it falls. "Really? How old are you, kid?"
"F-fifteen…" Is this a cultural thing? Does the word for 'elsewhere' also mean something else?
"Fifteen? I…when did you get it into your head to leave 'Elsewhere'?"
"Two years ago, but-"
"Two years he says…" He shakes his head, his eyes distant. "White Doll, what could you possibly have done-"
BANG!
The first car comes to a halt, smoke billowing from its hood. The passengers, a man, a woman, and a girl, who to your utter shock looks just like Queen Dianna, hurriedly exit as the second car stops right behind them.
A man in a blue uniform, probably the driver, gets out of the front seat of the first car and opens the hood, getting a cloud of smoke in his face for his efforts.
This isn't something that happens often, the people around you are too shocked for that. Some have walked up to the passengers, asking them if they're alright.
You excuse yourself from the conversation with the old man and walk over to the broken down car. The driver brought some sort of suitcase with him, opening it to reveal some basic tools and a few spare parts. Not that they do him any good: Even with the smoke dissipated he is still staring dumbly at the damaged motor, to his employer's consternation.
The girls see you approach before the adults, who you assume are their parents, eyeing you warily as you walk up to the man in an expensive suit, their father. You cough, drawing his attention and that of his wife onto yourself.
"Excuse me for intruding, but do you need a hand? I have some knowledge of engines and machinery." You take of your backpack and unpack your tools, holding them for the suited man to inspect.
The man is rather displeased, not at you, that is, but at the accident. He and his family must be in a hurry. His hands clench on the handle of his cane, but he calms down right before addressing you. "It cannot hurt. Thank you, young man."
You nod at him, leaving your backpack to lean against a nearby house before walking over to stand beside the driver. He steps aside after handing you the suitcase, joining the family to give you enough space to work in. the engine is still smoking, but it is barely noticeable. At least the driver had enough presence of mind to turn the thing off before he tried to fix it.
A glance at what's under the hood tells you one thing instantly: "I've never seen this model before. The engine, I mean." You admit. Their faces fall, the father muttering a word you do not recognize.
You don't want to disappoint them, and the underlying principles should be the same…
*
It only takes a minute to figure out how the engine is put together and how it is supposed to function, and from there your repairs are done without a hitch.
"Here's the culprit." You say as you hold out a small chunk of twisted metal that used to be a part. It got damaged by the heat and that tore into another part when it broke, causing the car to break down. When you got down to it, all you really did was replace the broken part with a spare from the suitcase and then apply a patch job to the parts that it damaged.
The wife's eyes widen. "Dear," she addresses her husband "Didn't this very thing happen to the Mitchells last year?"
"It did." He agrees before nodding at the driver. "Try to start it now."
You feel a not small amount of pride when the engine starts with no problems, the car evenly vibrating as the driver takes it for a short test drive. The girl that looks so much like Queen Dianna that it frightens you looks extremely relieved at the sight.
"Young man."
You turn back to the man even as you wipe your hands with a rag retrieved from your backpack. "Yes, sir?"
"You are not from around here are you?" The other girl is openly studying you pacing around you as if you take the sight of you in from all angles.
"No sir. I came here looking for work."
"I see."
You glance around. The old man you were speaking to earlier seems to have wandered off, so you decide to ask the suited man instead. "Sir, could you please tell me where I need to go to get a job the Heim Mines? I can't seem to find it."
The other girl snickers from behind you, what's with her?
The man grins. "I am Mr. Heim."
…Oh.
His grin shrinks into a small smile as he studies you a bit closer. "Say…my personal mechanic is in need of an assistant, would you be interested?"
"Yessir!" You tell Mr. Heim, who chuckles a little at your outburst.
"Good. However, we will need to discuss the details tomorrow. Tonight's Ceremony will take up the rest of the day." He adds 'and most of the night' under his breath before asking you your name and if you have a place to stay.
"My name is Loran Cehack, sir, and I don't have anywhere to stay at the moment."
"That so?" He points at the driver's section of the car you just fixed. "Then you might as well accompany us. Sit with the driver, your backpack will need to stay in the other car."
You don't really want to offend the man offering you a job, so you accept his offer. Though you don't really like how the younger girl is eyeing your backpack when you leave it with her. The drive to this ceremony they're talking about takes a little more than an hour, giving you the chance to ask some questions of Mr. Heim.
"Um…Sir?"
"Yes, young man?"
"When I arrived in Vicinity, I got a rather odd reaction from a man I was asking directions from when I mentioned I was from 'Elsewhere'. I said it because I don't like discussing it, but is there a second meaning to the word?"
Mr. Heim blinks at you while his wife and eldest daughter struggle not to laugh. He snorts and shakes his head. "A local series of old penny dreadfuls used the phrase 'being from Elsewhere' to mean 'I'm on the run from powerful people'. The old goat must have confused them for reality."
Huh. That explains the old man's reaction
*
You try not to eavesdrop on their conversation as the two cars draw closer to an odd building at the foot of a mountain. The sun is setting by the time you exit the car, the older daughter being led away by Mrs. Heim in to the building while Mr. Heim goes to speak with some other men. This place has gathered quite the crowd.
Someone sniffs behind you, it's the younger sister. "I don't believe you."
What? "What are you-hey!" That's your toy fish she's holding! "Give that back!"
She brandishes the red toy like a sword. "Answer my questions first!"
You don't answer her, you're too busy restraining yourself from lunging at her, so she goes on right ahead. "You said you've never seen the kind of engine that's in Daddy's car, but you fixed so easily!"
"It works on the same principles as the engines I'm used to, so it wasn't all that hard after I had a good look at it. And I didn't really fix it; I just replaced a broken part and patched up the rest of the damage." You told Mr. Heim that he needed to see a mechanic with the proper equipment and facilities at the earliest opportunity to get it repaired properly, but this girl wasn't in the car at the time.
"Sochie!" You and the girl turn in the direction of the building. The older sister is walking towards you, wearing a robe colored white on one side and blue on the other, as well as a floral wreath on her head. "Give that back this instant!"
You can't help but stare a little; she looks even more like the Queen when wearing white.
The younger sister, Sochie, sullenly hands your fish back. You thank them both.
"We haven't been introduced." The older sister gestures towards herself. "My name is Kihel Heim."
You stand up a bit straighter and take your hat off. "I'm Loran Cehack."
Sochie is still pouting. "Sochie Heim." She mumbles halfheartedly.
As the sun slowly vanishes beneath the horizon you're left with Sochie. Apparently this whole thing is a Coming of Age ceremony for the local youths, both boys and girls. You ask Sochie if she's going to attend tonight.
"Of course not." She tells you as if you were an idiot. "I'm fifteen, so it'll be my turn in two years."
"We're the same age then." You respond. This seems to surprise her for some reason, but you're interrupted when a small horde of young adults, all of them in white robes like the one Kihel wore, burst out of the strange building. They're all singing a song in a language you don't recognize while waving torches or carrying a platform with a statue of a man with a strange feathered headdress on it. Kihel is also on the platform, her back pressed up against the statue's chest.
An elbow pokes into your side. "Stop staring at my sister." Sochie demands angrily.
"Sorry, it's just." You shrug helplessly. "She just looks like someone I know and look up to, the resemblance is uncanny."
You don't think she believes you, but she lets the matter lie.
Suddenly Kihel spreads her arms, laying her hands into those of the wooden statue. "Take me to the White Doll!"
The robed and singing youths around her lift the platform again before marching along a well-worn trail that leads up the mountain.
"Sochie?"
"Hm? Yes?"
"What's the 'White Doll'?"
"You don't know?" She seems shocked, but she recovers quickly. "Wait, of course you don't. You're foreign." She takes a deep breath before beginning her lecture:
"The White Doll is a legendary giant…"
(Choice determines the condition of the White Doll's systems)
[] Whose strength tore its enemies apart with a million arrows!
[] Whose shield and armor were made of light, turning even the mightiest blows as harmless as rain!
[] Whose trickery let it walk unseen, see through all falsehoods, and change the nature of whatever battle it fought!
[] Whose wings and chariot let it outspeed the Sun itself!
[] Whose Spirit tore through its own skin, allowing it to touch the hearts of all mankind!
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