Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"I can't promise anything," Owl says, taking another drag on his cigarette, "I'm just a detective."

 

Chroma nods.
"I'll leave you a lead to know what's an order and what isn't. I suppose I should be wary with you, anyways."

 

"She proposed that we could bring back that leaf if we wanted her to brew a love potion, right? But.. seeing as we already got our answer, I don't think it will be necessary."

 

Owl shoots Chroma a sharp-toothed smile, shortened cigarette releasing it's fumes passively.

 

“Well, yeah, but, people like, do things, right? That wasn’t really doing anything, that was just living.”


“You don’t want any of the tomes or runes?”
I start flying towards the city.

 

"...Lady Gaia has a heart. Both do. Mine was just dealt a hopeless hand." Chroma sighs. "Anyhow, you saw the rock I left, no? Consider that your sign if it was an order. I've got dozens of bodies, may as well try to take myself down a notch now that I'm acting as petty as any other traitor..."

"Well... no, not really. That's not exactly as common as you might think."


"Emerald has them in the archives. The rest need to be destroyed."

Right. Well, then... I guess we can cut through the forest tonight. That doesn't count as coming back, right?

 

“...Oh.”


“Noted. You don’t happen to have a map of this place, do you?”

 

"As long as we not walk by Anne's place, we'll be find. Just.. take a big walk around just to be sure."

 

“For most creatures, survival is all they think about. They don’t go to war or argue, they either live or die.”


“It’s shifting, giving you an outdated map would be pointless. Though, if you find the local library - before it gets razed, you may be able to find a record of past vault locations. History repeats itself, no? As a robot I assume you were programmed with at least some algorithmic tendencies.”

I mean... it is night, and I do like a moonlight stroll. Around the forest, then?

 

"Very well," Owl says, "Good luck."

 

"Around the forest. Maybe take a view at the coastline while we're at it?"

 

"But I thought that was like for squirrels and stuff, not people."


"I've never actually gotten the chance to get an inside look at my workings, so that assumption is possibly correct. Either way, the point is taken. What can I expect from the people inside here?"

 

Chroma nods.
"You said you were a detective, no? I suggest looking into Alin'raata, though she often went by Alice." He says before his body crumbles into ash and dust.

"It depends on where you look. What you've seen is a small fraction of everyone."


"That assumption refers to your code. Regardless, they're all mages. If you have anything that can produce feedback, this task will be easy. Avoid using magic, and you should be able to handle most of the citizens with ease. Consider leaving civilians alive optional - the longer we take, the more time they have to smuggle these runes to O'rogal's palace."

We've never been to the east side of this island, anyways.

 

"I've heard of her." Owl says to Chroma's crumbling body, standing around a bit longer to finish his cigarette and take in the view.

 

Owl feels watched from the ground, though whatever it is starts to move away after Chroma leaves.

 

"Let's have a look around there then."

 

Owl takes another sip from his hip flask before heading in the same direction Hound went, though tries to avoid the sunlight as much as possible.

 

“...Okay.”


“Alright. Anything else?”

 

Chroma's ashes seem to merge into the ground.

"Structured language is common in more civilized societies, but practically nonexistent for isolated creatures just looking to survive. Shack and the others were an example of the latter."


"Just get moving. I'll let you listen in to any big orders, but know you're not exactly supposed to stay."

________________________________

Alright.

Uh... actually, could you let me out once we get out of the swamp?

 

A nearby Earth guardian - who'd been watching the scene - tries to grab Chroma before he disappears.