SGRUB Quest ( AS and PS )

Saturn smiles widely and gets down to roll around on the floor. This was just one of the things he enjoyed doing for the hell of it. He sat up and looked at his laptop in the corner of the room. His hive was basically a massive hole in the ground with furniture here and there and little lamps on the walls for light. No lusus was in sight.

Saturn goes and watches as the SGRUB loading screen comes up. He grins as he sits on the floor in front of his laptop. He pushes his wavy black hair out of his face and looks at the blank screen with the game's logo on. The words above it read, connecting. He smiled and stood up, looking at the anime poster on his wall. He smiles and goes to pick up his laptop, going to sit on the rug.

AS: i'mconnecting

PS: i am told i am intere$ting.
PS: but i am $ure i could figure my$elf out rather ea$ily if i were $omeone el$e, after all i am rather $ingle-minded about money.
PS: it ha$ alway$ been the ca$e that i have under$tood other$ fairly well.
PS: i know, for in$tance, that you are rather unlike the prototypical troll, in $o far a$ your $peech pattern$ $eem to indicate.
PS: but we will have more time for di$emination later.
PS: how are we to begin thi$ game?

Saturn will see on his screen a compact room, a respiteblock already half the hive by itself, with a door that functionally is more of a hole, as if dug by an ant. Said ant is right there, busily moving purchasedSerendipity's recuperacoon around for no reason that Saturn can discern. The girl herself is watching, eyes inscrutable behind sunglasses that seem a mite too large for her face, only half paying attention to the ergonomic husktop that is the only really functional thing in the room, besides the recuperacoon and a set of stringed instruments: violins, cellos, contrabasses, and violas on stands. It is a rather sparse room, or as our heroine would put it, an economic design.

Velesi is thinking of money, thoughts digesting the few bits of information that her Vision Diamondfold has allowed her about the venture that she is about to undergo. Her poise is restrained, culled, she sits with purpose and every little motion to flick hair from her eyes or adjust her sunglasses is incredibly deliberate. Even deep in thought she does not appear to have lost focus on her current situation, at all.

Saturn stares at his screen and pulls his fluffy panda stuffy into his arms. He smiles widely and begins to type away.

AS: you'repretty. :D
AS: fromwhaticansee right now is there arethesethingies- no machines that you needto proceed through the game.
AS: fornowiwill look at them and determine what theyareusedfor in a brief look through of the future.

Saturn closes his yellow and green eyes and his arms rest on the floor next to him. He remembered seeing the cruxtruder and foresees that it holds a totem lathe and a sprite inside. He also sees PS falling to the floor upon opening it. He takes note of that and decides to tell her to be careful upon opening the thing.

AS: iwilldrag a cruxtruder into yourroom.
AS: be very carefulupon opening it.
AS: if notcareful you might fall to the ground.

Carefully Saturn drags the cruxtruder inside of her cramped room.
Saturn stands up and takes off his grey shoes, revealing the yellow smiley face socks he wore under them. He takes out his sniper riffle and adds it to his strife specibus, also coding in fist-kind because of his ability to fistfight. He puts his single glass eyepiece into place, clipping to his ear and wrapping around to his eye. They shone brightly and bigger in comparison to anyone else's eyes.

PS: hm.
PS: do bear in mind that our interaction$ will be $trictly profe$$ional, in$ofar a$ the future i$ willing to allow me to under$tand.
PS: now we both $eem to know that i am going to find opening thi$ machine of your$ to be a challenge.
PS: which make$ $en$e, a$ thi$ thing i$ inordinately uneconomical in it'$ $patial dimen$ion$.

The Cruxtrider is deployed, with so much of the free space in her room taken up that Velesi must stand up and push her chair aside lest it be crushed by the incoming machine. Agitated, her antdaddy scuttles off into the only other room in the house, an atrium that is essentially empty save for a couple of fine artworks hung on the wall- not fine in the sense of Alternian musclebeast art, but actually fine by decent standards- and drops Velesi's recuperacoon there. If Velesi is affected by this in anyway she does not show it.

She steps away from the computer and picks up her favorite violin, The Arpeggiator, which promptly stops being a violin and starts being a bow, which is allocated to her bowkind specibus. Next she considers briefly the words of Troll Archimedes, "Give me a big enough lever and I will overthrow Her Imperious Condescension and become the fucking boss". The plan didn't work out for him so well, as he was culled for being a heretic, but it may well work for you. You consult your Stock Modus and buy out a large long rod like device- you spare no time to wonder what this could possibly have been used for- and let it clatter to the floor before you.

The bow is used to 'coerce' your antdaddy from being uselessly industrious into usefully industrious, namely by scaring him with bow shots into picking up the lever-like rod, jamming it into the Cruxtrider, and flipping the lid. Which promptly falls on you and knocks you flat. After a minute of recovery, you calmly get up, brush yourself off, and return to the computer in a practiced motion, all while noting how your room has changed.

PS: we $aw that coming.

AS: we didseeit coming.

Saturn sets his panda down and looks at a picture on the wall in which triggers him to go into his state of awareness. His eyes begin to tear up and he sobs. The picture was soon yanked off the wall and thrown at the couch. The picture was of the small dragon lusus that had raised him. He knew that this memory would slip away soon and he wouldn't remember until returning to his current state. Cream tears stream down his face and he slumps against the wall. He looks at his laptop and down at his hands that were currently shaking like crazy.

Saturn sniffled after he stopped sobbing and crying and returned to his computer, picking up his panda stuffy on the way back. His mind went clear and he went back to his previous state.

AS: therearemoremachines.
AS: that was justone of them. the others mustn't be that huge, right?
AS: i will deploythetotemlathe and alchemiter outside.

Saturn does as he had told her and dragged the two machines outside of her hive. He had also put the punch designix out there too. He was yet to get his machines so he sat and waited patiently, playing with his fingers and playing with his hair.

PS: ah of cour$e, my hive mu$t become even more difficult to move through.
PS: i $hould have $een that one coming, but my vi$ion can be impo$$ible at time$.
PS: what wa$ with the pau$e, by the way?
PS: you stopped me$$aging me for about a minute there.
PS: if you don't want to go into it, by all mean$ don't.

Velesi spares no time to consider Saturn's possible response, as her Vision Diamondfold suddenly produces for her the path to victory. It tells her that her antdaddy shall soon be gone, made into something far more vital to her. She spares a moment of highly professional regret for the loss, one she never saw coming. That old coot may have been largely a waste of space, but he had taught her the value of mindless hard work. Just add some mind and it would all work out.

Velesi exited into her atrium and brought along both her dowel and the strange little ball in her blood color that seemed keen on floating around uselessly, considered the machines deployed. She tinkers around with the Alchemiter to little avail, but manages with a bit of good experiment to produce her Cruxite Item, the Cruxite Bell, produced from a strange board resembling the famous Troll Stock Exchange board. Velesi knows she must ring that bell soon, but before she can go over to do so, an explosion sounds outside. Antdaddy had also exited the building, probably intent on digging random holes or something.

She exits, only to see a good-sized smoking crater outside her hive. The hole is there, alright. What is also there is the corpse of her antdaddy.

Velesi: oh my.

AS: i'msorrybut i.. i don't knowwhatyou're talkingabout.
AS: itmusthave been when iwenttoget my panda stuffy. :3

Saturn sits and thinks, wondering what PS was talking about. He seriously had no idea but he felt like he was forgetting something. For once in his remembered life had he held a small frown on his face. He stopped thinking and smiled brightly.

AS: can youplease put themachinesdownforme?
AS: pandaand i wanttoexplore. :3

Saturn looks at the most recent message and begins to type. He wondered what happened. He looks a little into the future and sees her and her lusus who is apparently dead.

AS: i'm sorryforyourloss. :(
AS: i hadthoughtofthefuture by a few seconds and saw the terriblenews.

Velesi received the messages, through her mobile device that we can only assume is the troll equivalent of an iPhone or Android or some such. She hadn't taken the time to check them however, until the moment where she was taken aback by her antdaddy's death. A strange aspect of her Vision Diamondfold was how difficult it was to actually know the future in spite of knowing it, paradoxical as that would be. When nothing was specific in her vision, it was almost even more confusing to understand the future, as without context her visions rarely made sense. Even knowing the future it was easy for her to be blindsided.

PS: i $aw it coming, though i am $till $urpri$ed all the $ame.
PS: apparently he will remain important for my future, though how i$ beyond me.
PS: i will be fine, of cour$e.
PS: when it i$ time for death, it i$ time.

Velesi showed no hint of visible emotion, especially as her eyes were still hidden, shielded by her sunglasses. She jumped down into the crater, making a slight note of how she was already beginning to tire physically from the shenanigans she had so far endured within ten minutes of that seemingly innocuous contact with Saturn. The vague, fleeting concept of many stairs in her future only further confirmed her suspicions that she would be receiving a workout whether she needed to or not.

Though the meteor suspect seemed to have disintegrated upon impact, one thing curiously survived the impact, lying innocuously upon the body of the thing that conspicuously did not survive the impact. Two discs, marked 'SGRUB'.

PS: that i$ the game $oftware then.
PS: i'll give you and your- ahem- panda your machine$.

Velesi returned into her hive, making a vague note of the meteors that now ominously dotted the sky and peppered the ground, destroying the hives of distant neighbors she didn't care about. She set up her server for their two-player session. But while she did, there was a sudden vague premonition about her charge that gave her pause. Danger and opportunity abound, as far as she could tell, but then that was the usual. Something about a lusus long gone... And not her own, of course.

PS: hm.
PS: i'm $etting up a$ we $peak.
PS: anything i $hould know before i get my fir$t glimp$e of you?

AS: i'mdifferent.
AS: you'll seewhati mean when you truly see.
AS: my foresight is getting fuzzy andithurts.
AS: i wonderwhat'sgoing on.

Saturn taps at his keyboard, unaware of the tear marks that his true self had left behind. He still had no idea what he had done that caused him to cry. Saturn puts that thought aside and holds onto his panda stuffy who was cream and white. While doing so he puts one hand up to play with his curly hair.

Saturn looks behind him to see the machines being deployed. He blinks and stands up, turning the handle of the cruxtruder and banging on the top of the machine. The top pops off and Saturn moves out of the way so he wouldn't be hit in the face. He pulls out the totem inside and looks up at the cream sprite looming above him. His yellow and green eyes lit up as the brightness of the sprite engulfed the room. He heard a boom and jumped slightly. He decided to get out of his little hive hole to check the scene out.

Saturn climbs up the ladder and looks up in the sky to see bright red meteors falling to the floor. He squeals and falls off, sending panda flying into the sprite. He quickly snatches up the totem and goes to the totem lathe to create his item, tripping on his pants on the way. He makes it before he falls for a third time. He patiently waits next to the machine, panda following him with a curious look in his button eyes. He takes the totem out once it has finished and creates a clock-like item in his blood color of cream.

He examines it and fiddles with the hands on it, putting it on 11:50 and watches it tick. He didn't know why, but he decided to keep it safe and sound for the meantime.

Velesi: fa$t little bugger.
Velesi: how beautifully efficient.

Armed with the proper knowledge of what to do with that curious little orb that liked following her around, and filing away the fact that Saturn had been crying into a mental file for future reference, she considered what to throw into her kernelsprite. She didn't have much around, and half of the things she owned were simply too large for her to pick up anyways. It had always been antdaddy who had done the manual labor in the hive...

As if answering her thoughts the kernelsprite acted of it's own accord and drifted smoothly into the body of her dead lusus. One blinding flash later and she had an Antsprite, which promptly proceeded to float back into the hive. Velesi followed it and saw that her reborn lusus had gone back to trying to move her recuperacoon around for no discernible reason.

Velesi: i $hould have $een that coming.

Her Vision Diamondfold now drawing blanks when it came to how exactly her lusus is any more vital to her in it's current form, Velesi considered briefly the case of her server and client player. He had been crying but had denied it. Either he was hiding something or honestly could not remember. Either way Velesi was sure that a close eye would have to be kept on the higherblood.

PS: you went through that quite quickly.
PS: what i$ going on?
PS: i$ your vi$ion $till giving you i$$ue$?

Velesi stood ready to ring her Cruxite Bell. She touched it off with a single tap. The Stock Market opened, and the day begun in earnest.

For at least another hundred years we must pretend to ourselves and to every one that fair is foul and foul is fair; for foul is useful and fair is not. Avarice and usury and precaution must be our gods for a little longer still.
- Troll Archimedes

AS: iguess i justknewwhattodo.
AS: nothingbadis happening. i think. :P
AS: my vision of the future isn't botheringme asbadasithought.
AS: quick hold out your palm so i can seeit.

Saturn typed as he picked it up and carefully carried it around. He sets it on top of his tablet and the information is transfered so he could continue on that. He picked the touchscreen tablet and walked around, using it's small amount of light to guide him even though PandaSprite could have done that for him.

He sits on the floor, fiddling with buttons with extreme speed as if he were born to type.

AS: i foundaway to walkandplay at the sametime.
AS: my fuzzy foresight mightbeaffecting me more than i know.
AS: i thinkit's bad..
AS: the reason ihaveasked to seeyourpalm is to tell the future in a different way becauselikeihavesaid, i canreadpalms. ^^

Saturn stares at the screen of the tablet, patiently awaiting for a response from PS. He was curious as of what she actually sounded like.

" Ohwell " he says in a small, quick, and jumbled up fashion.

Velesi considered briefly the logic of what she was being asked to do, as she already recalled that Saturn was a palm reader before he redundantly reminded her of that fact. Which direction was she supposed to hold her palm out in? She did a quick set of spatial calculations based on what her own computer was showing her of Saturn, and held her palm up in what she assumed was the correct direction.

PS: will thi$ do?

AS: indeedthankyou

Saturn looked at the screen and calculated things within his mind. His eyes darkened a little but then went back to normal.

AS: alright, your lifeline calculates therebeing something that will try to stop you quitesoon.
AS: i would take thatasa monster or boss of somesort.
AS: it could also be an obstacle anyonecanface in life itself.
AS: a challengeawaitsyou friend.

Saturn plays with his hair again and walks to the side of the room with his rainbow rug and two chairs he had used to have tea parties with panda on. PandaSprite follows Saturn, trying to say something but the words came out as a small mumble. Saturn frowns at this and looks up at the sprite, hugging it and shooshing it.

"Try talkingalittle later Panda, ok? " Saturn says with a small look of worry on his usually happy face.

PS: we $aw that one coming.

Velesi could not reciprocate the favor, as her Vision Diamondfold only gave her insights that benefited herself to her usual detriment. Her plans- irons in fires, some could call them- not particularly affected by this newest piece of information, Velesi walked out to consider where she was now.

Her hive, as small as it was, was the only notable feature for quite aways, as it was impossible to really see that far at all. The entirety of her land was blanketed by a thick darkness, or perhaps more accurately a thick grayness, some sort of heavy layer of matter that blocked out the light of whatever this planet was supposed to be lit by, assuming there was anything. It was as if Velesi's hive had been deposited into the midst of a storm, only it was calm. Water sounded, but only in the smooth gurgle that indicated a river nearby. Rivers, judging by the multiple sources of sound.

Velesi returned to the computer and watched Saturn for a moment. She did not send him anything, a bit curious to see what he would do, if it would grant her any insight into her coplayer.

Saturn nods after looking down at his tablet. He doesn't respond but he went to pick up the picture that was in one of the chairs. His eyes darkened and his aware self set the tablet down and cried.

"W-why.. " He mumbles, tears streaming down his face.

He fell to his knees and held the picture in his hands, bringing it to himself and crying. He then didn't want to remember. He thought it would be wise to hide the photo, but somewhere he can find it. He got his camera and took a photo of it and wrote himself a note to look unless he didn't want to go back.

He smiled a little at PandaSprite and gave it a hug, letting all of his tears out and speaking to it about how sad he felt. The panda patted his back with it's soft arm stumps until he went back to normal.

"Hmm? Ohhipanda!" He says with a big smile.

He wiped his face and wondered how he cried and what he had done that he hadn't remembered leading up to the current events.

Velesi: probable multiple per$onality di$order, linked to an old memory. chance$ of thi$ being a problem...

Velesi considered what she had seen so far. The mood swings were far too sudden to be anything besides split personalities. But she had two moods so far: impossibly happy and impossibly depressing. Ideally that would have been it, but there was always something dark and violent stirring beneath the surface in this type of persona.

Velesi: ... indeterminate.

Velesi filed away those mental notes on her coplayer for future reference, and made a careful note to keep her bow, which was now back to being a violin, on her at all times. She wondered how far apart they were, whether a personal encounter would be happening any time in the near future. Her Vision once more refused to be useful, which left her to her own devices. Velesi abandoned Saturn for the moment, returned to considering her machines.

It took a bit of experimentation with the alchemiter through her server connection to Saturn before Velesi was able to determine that she could synthesize objects from a strange hexagonal object called grist, presumably the 'money' that Saturn had been referring to back on Alternia. She decided to relay this information to her coplayer.

PS: i've determined that we can produce thing$ u$ing the hexagonal money you $poke of before we entered.
PS: i a$$ume we will have to find the$e mon$ter$ you al$o $poke of and procure that money from them in $ome way.

A quick check of her Stock Modus revealed that there had been no investments or buyouts within the period of time that she had started the game, which either meant that she was out of range of Alternia's Stock Market or that it had been destroyed somehow. The meteors had been an ominous sign.

Saturn lets go of PandaSprite and it follows him, big button eyes looking curiously at his movement. It lies on the floor and puts it's stubby little arms above it's head. It flips back around and floats back to Saturn, who was currently nodding to himself with a big smile. He reads the note and decides to ignore it. He wondered if the note was there before he forgot what he was doing. He puts the thought aside and focuses on the messages he was sent.

AS: indeedso.
AS: ihaveafeeling we mustkillthemonsters once found.
AS: itmayjustbe a feeling but it couldbemoreprobable of it being true.
AS: justathought to through out there. :3

Saturn plays with the hair brushing against the side of his face and looks at the alchemiter. He had a feeling he had to do something with it so after a little bit of looking and trying, he managed to alchemize a combination of his extra keyboard and his microphone, creating the " Speak-o-matic " for him to use. This item allows him to talk and the words are typed.

Saturn stares at it and shakes his head, setting the headset aside. He goes a little crazy with the alchemy, making a bracelet with fluffy bunnies on it, a cup shaped like a fish and a mouse keyboard. He giggles to himself and puts his bracelet on and puts the other items int their respected places. He smiles at Panda and the panda smiles down at him.

PS: ah, combat.
PS: had i had any prior warning i may have opted out of thi$ game.
PS: i am not known for my ability on the battlefield.

Velesi watched Saturn for a brief moment, bemused by the innocent cuteness that her coplayer was building upon himself and his environment. Unprofessional and a complete waste of economy, not to mention that it was all the behavior of an incomplete individual anyways. After a minute of watching that uselessness, she decided to move on. She'd need some start-up funds in order to begin, if she was to be engaging in combat.

She had earlier noted that the typical prices of objects on her Stock Modus had suddenly been replaced by quantities of 'grist'. Velesi smiled. That was one way to procure money. She carefully acted as a one-woman corporation, using both her mobile and her actual computer as separate entities and using her impeccable business sense on the inherent micro-decay and inflation present within the Stock Market. By carefully investing and doubling up with her 'other' company, she was able to grow a few grist into a hefty supply within a matter of minutes. She sold a couple of her now high priced stocks in copies of Thresh Prince of Bel Air- a show she had always disdained- and returned to her alchemiter.

Mobile Phone && Black Tie == Tie Phone

A fairly obvious first investment. On top of further improving her money making capacity it also freed her hands, which would be probably critical when the monsters began appearing at her doorstep.

At this point it was probably a good time to check back in onto AS, whatever useless stuff he was doing now.

PS: any thought$ on how we $hall progre$$ from here?

AS:...
AS: lookoutside! hurry! i have a bed feelingabout it..

Saturn climbs up his ladder again and looks outside after hearing a large bang. The landscape around him seemed a little different. The constant sound of ticking surrounded him and small water puddles, turning to small vortexes cover most of the land. In the sky and all over the land are large grandfather clocks. His eyes go wide and climbs out, tablet in hand. PandaSprite follows along with him as he gazes into the sky. He takes his tablet and makes it so it is facing his land so PS can see.

AS:lookatthis!
AS: i knew there wassomething afoot! :3

Saturn walks along, not really caring about the ticking. He found it quite soothing to the mind. He felt his foresight improve by 100% and he smiles, messaging PS immediately.

AS: my foresight isworkingagain!
AS: this strange land made it improve a lot. :D

He holds onto his tablet and goes up to a grandfather clock, lightly touching it and smiling. He liked this land better than Alternia. Maybe even better than the beach. He liked how quiet and soothing this felt, making him feel happier than normally possible. There was no one to yell at him or hit him, nor was there anything to disturb him in anyway. All it was was PS and him. It was almost a nonjudjmental environment.

PS: $o the game ha$ brought u$ away from alternia, i am $ure.
PS: we are not in the $ame general area, however.
PS: i$ your fore$ight telling you anything important?
PS: what we mu$t work toward$ perhap$, to further increa$e our pro$pect$ for making money.

Velesi continued to work on increasing those prospects, however.

Mobile Phone && The Arpeggiator == No Strings Attached

Somehow the alchemiter decided that combining your phone with your violin created yet another mobile phone with an unlimited data plan. Rather useless, as you already had an unlimited data plan on your old phone- which in turn seems redundant as you're no longer on Alternia and your phone is being covered by the game- but you can only guess that there are no strings attached on this plan, no loopholes hidden in the fine print. As a businesswoman you're excellent at managing the fine print anyways, so again, totally useless. At least it's more money.

The Arpeggiator && Painting of Troll Norman Rockwell == Earth, Wind, and Fire

It's a bit disconcerting to produce a piece of armor from a dual weapon musical instrument and a painting, but the weird leap of logic aside, this seems like a very interesting piece. It's a leather chestplate, rather ragged, with a bowtie in your blood color on the collar of the piece. Protection would be nice if you were going in after monsters. Investments in your life, you would say. Perhaps not the most economical since there's no return otherwise, but staying alive is always helpful in the pursuit of profit.

With four computers Velesi was now making a killing on her one woman Ponzi Scheme. She had quite a bit of a few exotic types of grist, far more than she probably needed to produce anything. She smiled slightly to herself. Already she was making the game hers.

AS: it's actually a fact that we aren'tonalterniaanymore.
AS: thereis no way thatthiscanbealternia..
AS: i can tell that bytheway this land is, time will guide me.
AS: thisinaway can be confusing to one but i understand.
AS: i mustusemy memory and future toguide me to my destined fate.
AS: takealook atyour land.
AS: it can tell you a lot by observation and plain sight itself.
AS: look within the heart and you will find meaning.

Saturn types with lots of thought put into each word. He didn't quite understand why he insisted within himself to type such a meaningful log in itself. He smiles and continues to walk, noticing numbers carved into the side of each clock. He thinks of the future, keeping each number in mind and sees a door with a code. Each column is needing two numbers. He immediately noted each number ant the time on each clock face. He typed in the numbers going from first to last, finally stopping at a door along a path.

Saturn plays around with a keypad before confirming the code combination of 3:00-6, 7:27-9, and 1:21,1. The rusty door opens with a loud screeching noise and he walks through it. The floor drops and a ladder drops off of the platform he was standing on. He climbs down, PandaSprite following closely behind. A vortex forms in front of him and zooms to his right, smacking into a wall. The sound of ticking and clocks were everywhere. He lightly tapped the keyboard on the touchscreen and began to form a good amount of messages.

AS: this placeisvery interesting.
AS: exploring thisplacewas a very good idea.
AS: from here i willbeable to move along quite nicely.
AS: have a nice time investigating. ^^

PS: ah.
PS: $uch a game then, that would take u$ away from our home.
PS: i will $ee what i can determine.

Velesi placed on her armor, noting how unprofessional she looked now with the beaten leather over her form. It was a sacrifice worth making of course, given that she would be required to fight, any advantage she could take would be necessary. She examined herself briefly in the reflection of her two phones. Normally she was not given to examining her appearance too closely save to ensure that she looked suitable for work, but she had to note how much older she suddenly seemed in her armor.

She continued on, out of her home. Almost immediately she realized that the smog was even worse than she had first noted from within her hive; she could barely see at an arm's distance from herself. A hand clutched her violin tightly, ready to produce it's bow form at a moment's notice. She considered going back inside, to try and synthesize something to break through the darkness around her. But Saturn had said that she had to look into her heart, which was of course useless information as one's heart did not produce keen plans for the future, but it made her wonder if the inkling her Vision was granting her was correct.

She decided that it was in the experimental spirit to try, so she followed the weak and vague concept that her Vision granted her, through the smog until her hive was out of sight. Before her, she could tell by the great sound of flowing water, was some kind of river. She wondered for a moment what to do, then she bent down and drunk of the water.

Suddenly her Vision was much clearer, and it almost seemed to break through the smog that surrounded her. Though she could not really see, she knew where she had to go.

PS: ah.
PS: your advice ha$ worked well.
PS: you are an excellent coplayer.

Velesi was careful to refrain from mentioning the specifics of what her explorations had granted her. Her cautious businesswoman's self was loathe to grant away any information that was her's alone as a monopoly, even to a partner.

Saturn carefully walks down tunnels to a big grey room with a large clock in the front. He walks towards it and finds himself surrounded by the vortexes. He carefully touches a clock and closes his eyes, feeling the room around him get cold immediately afterwards.

A vision is put into his mind of him with a key. His surroundings were light grey and the ground beneath him seemed clear. It felt real to him until he opened his eyes. He knew now that he had to find a key and would have to continue from that. He smiles to himself and takes the route to a door to the right of him. This room was a dark blue and had an eerie feeling to it. He climbed up the rocks on the wall and found a ledge in which he lied down to watch.

A group of about 10 imps comes out of the clearing. He quickly checks his pesterchum before doing anything else.

AS: thank you for the complimentmyfriend. ^^
AS: i may as well saythesame my friend. ^^

Saturn's eyes darken a little and he sets the tablet aside. He adjusts his eyeglass and takes out his sniper riffle, readying to fire. He uses the scope and zooms in on the biggest imp's head. He fires with deadly accuracy and begins to shoot the others to the floor. One by one each imp drops dead to the floor. Once the deed is done no emotion is found on his face, and he packs his equipment up. His face brightens again and he looks down.

"Oh look! Iwonderwhat happened to them. " He says with confusion.

PS: i would not care whether you con$idered me a good coplayer or not.

Velesi walked blind but could see, the path to some 'gate' being outlined to her by her Vision. The darkness of the choking smog was all around, and Velesi could only assume that her enemies lurked in the darkness, so she kept her bow terse and drawn, ready to fire at the first sign of an enemy. The flow of the river was beside her, it seemed that she was following it downstream, to somewhere.

Her first enemy made itself known in the form of a vague shape that popped up out of the smog and tried to claw at her. She sidestepped, more than a bit clumsily though, which sent her first shot flying into the darkness. Velesi calmly prepared her second shot, and this time it found it's mark. The creature staggered, and Velesi was about to take her third shot when her bow unfortunately returned to being a violin. She sighed and took a step forward, bashing the creature over the head and causing it to explode.

A small amount of grist was produced, which of course was useless as she was making far more than that off non-violent schemes. She pocketed it anyways, as money was still money, and continued on her way.

She had no more run ins until she reached her gate. What lay beyond was something her Vision would not tell her.

PS: i have found what i believe i$ a gate.
PS: do you have any in$ight a$ to what purpo$e it $erve$?

AS: gates serve as voids from one world to another.
AS: thinkofitas a portal.
AS: find a waythrough it and you will be somewhere else.

Saturn grabs his tablet, jumps down, and collects the grist. PandaSprite follows closely behind as they both examine the room. He looks to scratch marks on the walls, counting each tick mark and adds each number on each wall, coming up with the number 23. He comes up to another door and types in the number on the keypad.

Saturn walks through a light grey room, remembering he needs a key here. Carefully, Saturn looks at the floor, seeing plates there. He takes a rock out of his pocket and throws it at one of the plates. It sinks quickly and darkness appears under. The rest of the room's floor was clear with small glass plates here and there. He carefully walks to the middle of the room and sees a box he picks it up and obtains a key. A door was on the other side of the room so he carefully makes his way to it and unlocks it.

A metal plate was on the wall of this new room. On the plate read : see through time and you will find the way. Saturn tilts his head, slowly comprehending the message. He nods and goes up to a clock in the center of the room. This puzzle was slightly harder because of the message. He touches the clock face and a vision fills his head. Ticking fills his thoughts which was quite distracting. He had to see through time. A clock in his vision made it hard to see what was going on. He punched it and behind it lay a village with yellow cats in green capes.

He opens his eyes and a keypad lied in front of him. A question was above it reading: What were the creatures and what were they wearing? He smiled and typed in his answers, leading him to a room with those creatures. This room however was massive. Houses and stands were everywhere. He looked up and saw dark purple sky. He turned around and was met by a solid grey wall, which was a giant building. Saturn shrugs and walks around.