story Part One - The existential dread of the White Box Building

[Anthr4xus]

"Wait," Rachel asked as she trailed behind Fionna, "You said go back to the problem.  Are you saying that time is stopped back in the DMV building until we return?  Is this place really real, or just some kind of..." she almost seemed to choke on the word, "Magical construct?"

[Whisper]

Tapping into a shadow of himself ? Gaining insight into... what, alternate lives he might have lived ? And the skills of those... reflections ?

Martin pondered Fiona's instruction and explanation - bare-bones as both were - while first studying, then peeling and eating the manifested pistachios. His doubts had taken a back-seat, faced with impossibilities that had become reality - but Martin wasn't yet ready to fully believe everything. As such, he wondered what reflection or shadow he might tap into and draw a skill from that was... testable, here and now.

At the fifth pistachio, Martin had come up with something. With a whisper of remorse, he dropped the shells on the ground and closed his eyes, focusing, thinking off, seeking some version, some shadow of himself that didn't have that particular flaw...

 

There was no sudden rush of knowledge, no flood of memories or sudden sense of... anything - only a faint shifting of some memories, almost like no longer being quite sure that what he remembered was what really had happened. Well, only one way to test it. 

Keeping his eyes closed, Martin took a slow breath before extending his arms sideways and lifting his left foot.

Without visual cues or at least two points of contact, Martin's sense of balance was... terrible; after a few seconds, he'd start to wobble, instinctively try to compensate and in so doing, exacerbate the issue. Counting under his breath, Martin slowly lowered his arms which, ordinarily, would increase the wavering. When, by the time he'd reach the count of 25, he still stood stable, he opened his eyes and nodded to himself. 

Again, Fiona's claim had proven true.

 

> "You of all people should know a good performer never reveals there tricks!"

 

Fiona's reply to some question he'd missed brought Martin's attention back to their rescuer. There was a faint whiff of something out of place and suddenly, the light in the room changed. Martin's gaze flickered to the ceiling before, not finding any lightbulb that might have been turned off, shifting to the windows. The harsh light that had flown in through broken or comparatively clean section had changed to the softer, more silvery light of the moon.

 

With a mental shrug, Martin followed Fiona outside, studying the unremarkable small town street. Well, except for the plant growth that looked somewhat out of place.

 

"Uh-huh." he muttered in agreement to Jane's mumbled comment - before dipping a hand in his pocket and fishing out the packet of nuts and offering it "Pistachio ?"

 

[matt_s]

Magic or mundane, I am beginning to believe there is no difference at all, Tim says. This place is familiar of course, but the plants are overgrown and the moon is off by several days at least. There seems to be nothing to it but to press forward and deal with things as they come. 

 

Tim will politely decline the offered pistachios. No time for hunger when things were so strange. Is this place where we were before at a different time, or is it an echo of it in a different reality?

[jabberwock]

There was talk of more destinations, more lessons, and problems in the rear view.  Clearly it was not the last they had seen of the dreaded demon woman.  Telly shivered involuntary, suddenly remembering the gore that had been his whole world, only a short time earlier.  It seemed like almost a dream now, or perhaps this was the dream and he'd awaken in a hospital bed.

 

Their guide opened the exit wide, revealing the streets beyond.  They were both familiar and foreign, the line of buildings that led up the street.  He noticed cracked walls and weathered roofs, where vegetation had begun to seep into foundations.  Disturbingly enough, the once sun dappled scenery was now plastered in pale moonlight, black and white and grey.

 

As if suddenly realizing that they were about to embark on a journey of some unknown import, Telly hurried over to a closet door.  He closed it briefly and concentrated for a second before opening it up and reaching inside.  From the previously empty closet, the young technician pulled out a backpack.  He checked its simple contents: a flashlight, a rain poncho, a warm jacket, some granola bars, a canteen of water, and Swiss army knife.  His eyes rose to meet the others.  "Uhhh, anyone else want one?  Just in case?"  The closet held a few more similar bags.

[Sir Lazeabout]

"Hey, cool!" Jane hurries over to Telly and shoulders one of the bags. "Ready for action, right?"

[jabberwock]

Telly nodded.  "We can probably finding everything we need in a..."  At this he licked his lips, trying to remember the word that Fiona had used.  "... libido space.  But what if one isn't around?"

[TiffanyKorta]

The night air was filled with fragrant, almost euphoric, smells. It was almost pleasant if you ignore the glance of what looked like bones under the plants.

“Good question every Earth’s time flows differently, I choose this one as it runs much slower than yours! But even we can stop or reverse the flow of time, and it’s important to remember that if two places are linked so are their flows of time.”

She then waited for you all to gather together and exchanged snacks before starting to walk whilst explaining the next stage.

“The biggest gift of our blood is the ability to find the worlds we desire. The most skilled among us can do it without effort, but it’s best to do it by moving. If you’re planning to stop for more than a few moments it’s best to use liminal places to make a transfer.”

 

Stepping around the corner you get that strange feeling that you had not long ago, and the town was subtly different. First was the presence of people, few though being the early evening, and so the building weren’t in any way abandoned and disheveled. Anyone thinking to look back can see the same street but in a similar state as what you’re seeing here. On several walls were what seemed to be warning signs of the kind of plants of the world you’d apparently just left.

 

“Time is of an issue, so if you have any questions ask them now before we move on again.”

[Sir Lazeabout]

"Where are we going, again?" Jane says. "Also, where are we? Where is everyone?" She pauses for a moment. "I can probably think of a few more, but that about covers it for now."

[Anthr4xus]

Rachel tagged along towards the middle of the group, obviously working to come to grips with all of this.  She heard the words being said and the questions being asked, but she was more focused on the dawning realization of how useful and powerful this ability could be.  At first she was locked in on how this could allow her to run better grifts, but she quickly realized that there was no need for her to grift if she could pull pretty much anything out of any given cabinet.  Other than the downside of being hunted by horrific demon things, this was bound to be pretty sweet.  A question suddenly occurred to her and she asked, "If time flows differently in various possibilities, why would you not reach into far future places to get supertech like teleporters or immortality serum, or sideways to grab ahold of real magic?"

[Whisper]

 

Martin considered the backpack being offered for a moment. After patting his pocket to make sure he still had his pocket knife - not the disappointing one he'd been issued by the Swiss army with two blades, a can and a bottle opener and an awl but his more comprehensive, private one - he declined the offer with a shake of his head. He had his knife and his lighter - and their newfound ability to 'find' whatever they needed at short notice. And he'd never particularly liked lugging around backpacks with 'necessities', even when he had had to. 

 

<<..>>

 

Fiona inviting questions came as a bit of a surprise. Martin would have liked to sit down with a pen and a notepad - he was more of a methodical thinker - and the impromptu nature of the discussion didn't play to his strength. But even so, he came up with a number of inquiries but not before the two women had thrown their own at their... saviour-guide-teacher. While waiting for those questions to be answered, he went over his own, unvoiced ones, refining some, dismissing others, coming up with new ones. 

 

"What are the limits ? The 'cannots' and 'must nots' ?" He could think of a few for the former as well as the latter but... assumptions. "Also, you spoke of what we can do, what we might do, what we are - in short, the powers and privileges we suddenly enjoy. You have, however, only barely brushed against the costs and obligations that come with these benefits... have we just been drafted into some kind of conflict ? Are we, as 'children of Amber', now bound to obey some king or queen ruling over Amber ?"

 

Martin had more questions but those were going into specifics and details - and might be obsolete, depending on how the general ones were answered.

[matt_s]

Never mind endless words and pointless questions. Let us move forwards, and have actions and our eyes speak for themselves.

[Anthr4xus]

"That's exactly why we need to know.  I don't want to try to reach for something and accidentally make my eyes literally speak.  No thanks."

[jabberwock]

The ability to find worlds we desired...

 

It was a captivating thought, something that had crossed his mind more than once.  A way to break the monotony of life, the drudgery that permeated his every day.  A chance at something more.

 

But that was a pipe dream.  Something that let him drift away in the middle of an abstract, grey day.  This was something different.  The visceral fear and horror of the DMV (well, the demon in the DMV, though to an extent the DMV itself as well) and the vaguely odd familiarity of the background for this "adventure" was deeply out of place for his fantasies.  He felt somehow different yet still the same, out of place yet still stuck.

 

His fellow adventurer, Martin, still kept a reasonable head on his shoulders.  His questions seemed pointed and fair, something the problem solver inside of Telly approved of.  "If we can control the flow of time, why is time still of the essence?"

[Thot]

Akhtar Mubarak, Cultured Diplomat

The diplomat was still shocked by the implications of the "real / shadow" explanation about their selves. He had always thought of him as "real" of course, and to learn that there were an infinity of others "nearly like him" who probably thought likewise, and still were not... it was humbling to a new degree.

 

Then Fiona didn't leave it at that, and instead lead them on some kind of field trip ? Akhtar gladly picked the backpack when offered, its weight a solid reassurance of something real, or so he liked to think. "Find the Worlds we desire" ? it was pushing things to a new degree again. He couldn't resist, and asked the first thing that came to his mind. "Even worlds where we would be supreme kings ? Is that even possible ?"

 

[TiffanyKorta]

“There are two reasons we don’t need technology. Once my idiot jock brother fought a duel for an entire day, just because they could. We never grow sick, or old, and with time we can regenerate limbs and even eyes. And now that you’ve taken your first steps into the multiverse you’ll benefit from the same.” she paused to let this sink in before continuing on “Secondly each world has it’s own rules to as what will work and won’t, on some magic only works on others just technology. It’s why many of us carry a sword, such things work wherever we go.”

 

With a few more twists and turns the town got smaller and less technological, the skies grew overcast and rain was on the wind.

 

“As to your loyalty to Amber that’s up to you, once you are safe you can go and do what you wish. Many in the family have gone and found there own world to live as kings, or queens, for a few centuries…”

 

As you had travelled your clothes had subtly shifted into medieval, if not fine material, clothing each of you seeming to have a single colour dominate (your technological items thankfully are tucked away in various packs and pouches). Even Fiona’s suit had shifted into similar garb, in a fine royal purple. She stopped them in front of what to be a medieval weapon market, arranged around a blacksmith.

 

“If you want to face the demon you’ll need some kind of weapon, pick what you want just remember anything to big will draw to much attention.”

 

It seems each of you now has a money pouch fill with suitably old silver coins, each head strangely though has the head of a rabbit.