A New Platform [Intro Post April!]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

Two days after they return from their mission they are awoken as usual "Good morning passengers, it is day sixteen of the month of Egret. The shop has been updated and points have been applied to passengers tickets."

Those that go to check the shop terminals will find they have indeed updated, with the option to buy larger items and also animals. The morning goes on until just after noon there is a second announcement.

"Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." A lurch and a jolt and they are soon surrounded by the fog that means they are at a platform. Though the fog is thick, thicker than usual perhaps, there are patches on sunlight shining through and it is pleasantly warm.

The doors open and the first few to disembark do so with rucksacks on, hoods pulled up, silent and almost blank faced. Cu Chulain, Dio Brando, Disreputable Dog, Heiji Hattori, Loki Maedhros, Maglor, Naruto, Thor, Tobias Fangor.

They walk to the barriers, show their tickets and disappear.

But on the platform itself there are once again new faces. All are stood, waiting for the train.

For New Passengers

At first all they can see is steam. Billowing around them as they come to their senses. They are standing, in clothes that are not their own, styles they might not even recognise. They are carrying a rucksack on their back. For a moment it seems to just be them, alone in the white haze but then as people begin to shift or call out it will become apparent they are not alone.

The platform is not large and it holds eighteen figures all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. It's warm but foggy making it hard to see much, but there are clearer patches bathed in sunlight found across the platform. Both left and right the tracks disappear into the mist. Then there is a roaring sound and out of the fog arrives a train. Jet black with gold writing on the side. The Voidtrecker Express. There is a hiss as the doors slide open and out into the cold step a selection of people. Some are human, some are less so. They are wearing the same hoodie in one of the four colours, red, orange, blue and purple.

The Train

The doors hiss open. Those from the train may encourage those on the platform to board. It’s not like there is anywhere else to go and even if there was, you feel a pull. A need to board, a feeling that staying on the platform would not be a good thing. If that is not enough, there are plenty of people on the platform now, to encourage them onto the train.

Each ICP shows the same message and next to the screens there are stacks of leaflets written by those on the train, with further information. The store rooms have been restocked with an abundance of onions, in case the passengers weren't bored of them yet.

Passengers who are not brand new will notice that the train has gotten yet longer again with a sixth sleeper cabin for new arrivals.

New passengers will find their tickets allow them into their cabins. They may need to negotiate for beds, especially if they want a top bunk!

Room is tight but there are storage cubbies at the head of each bed, beds fold up and the bottom bunks double as benches for the small table. There is storage under those benches and you will hopefully find a pillow for your bed if it has not been nabbed by a roommate, there are also spare blankets for if it gets cold.

Departure

A second horn sounds to encourage any stragglers and the doors slide shut. Veteran passengers know what will happen next, they may wish to brief their new companions.

The train sets off, the fog obscuring the view as it picks up speed.

"Welcome aboard, passengers of the Voidtrecker Express.” A female-coded artificial sounding voice echoes throughout the train. "Please take the time to read the passenger information displayed on the Information and Communication points and familiarise yourself with the layout and emergency exits."

The train begins to tilt, leaving the ground and rising up into the fog filled sky.

"Entrance into Voidspace imminent. New passengers are advised to remain seated. Entry into Voidspace in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

A shudder, a jolt, a lurch to the left. A flash of light, colourful and blinding. As quick as it happens it is done. The train seems to steady. The fog from the windows is gone now, replaced with a kaleidoscope of ever changing colours.

Welcome to the Void!

Comments

[themasterthief]

Garrett shook his head with a wryly amused quirk to his lips. "I don't steal while on the train. No point." Plus, he would rather stay out of trouble. Which was easy in a large city but less so on a cramped train. So he didn't bother to steal from the passengers. Instead, he offered his services to procure things while they were off world. "But if you think of anything you might want while we're on another world let me know any time and I'll look for it."

He tilted his head slightly and looked at her with a bit of confusion and curiosity. "I don't know what you mean by 'others'." She didn't sound like she meant other new passengers. The way she phrased it, in fact, was really strange to him. He was wary as to why anyone would get hurt.

[najaran]

"Other worlds? Really?" she asked, smiling. Neat! And then the moment was gone, no huge shock, but also not every day. "I guess i'd want to try yummy foods from all kinds of places. And if there were Cards that wanted to be with me..." she trailed off, considering that. But mostly thinking about the yummy foods. She probably should ask more about other worlds, but maybe there were guide books she could read with restaurant recommendations in the cultural notes.

"The other Cards," she said coming out of her food coma daydream to realize he had spoken again.

[themasterthief]

"Mmhm." So this girl was mostly just interested in foreign foods, huh? Well, he always stole food for himself so grabbing extra wouldn't be that unusual. But that wasn't really what he meant.

However, he was curious about this card business. If she was some sort of collector and had something specific in mind, it might be more of a challenge for him to find something to her liking in that category of items. Little did he realize...

"...you want to introduce me to...your cards?" He was clearly clueless.

[najaran]

She nodded. "If you want to meet them that is." She looked around and considered. "There are too many people to bring out Knight, he might accidentally hurt someone. Gargoyle too." She considered. "Oh, but Cait Sith and Eidolon could come out and play for a bit!" She wasn't so sure about Gremlin. She loved her Gremlin of course, but he did have a habit of causing trouble.

[themasterthief]

The master thief stared and blinked at her. The silence stretched on for a bit.

Then, carefully, "Are you talking about some sort of creatures you summon out of...?" A deck of cards. He really didn't want to finish that sentence.

The pink clefairy running around was one thing. He even saw Eva use the pokeball while on the mission and ok that was strange because it was clearly smaller than the actual pet it housed but he got over it because at least it was somehow designed to hold things.

But a literal card trick? Oh man. This train was crazier than Ryslig sometimes.

[najaran]

"Out of the Culdcept Cards, yeah," she said with a bright smile. "I'm a Cepter, but it's okay," she said reassuringly, "I'm one of the good ones."

[themasterthief]

His slightly blank and yet confused look wasn't going anywhere even with that oh-so helpful explanation from her. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He admitted flatly.

[najaran]

That was odd. She'd met cards that were actual people now and had minds of their own, but she'd never met a card who didn't know he was a card. And if he wasn't a card, what was he? She'd never seen his like before, even in books. But the best way to tell was to show. She pulled out the small pouch from inside her bag. Who first.... Cait Sith. That made the most sense. She held the pouch in one hand and put her other hand to the opening and a card shot out to her waiting fingers. She flipped it deftly into the air and it split apart in a flash of light. From the light descended a small upright house cat in a red cloak that wrapped around itself completely from neck to knees..

The cat landed neatly between them and shook itself out once, then looked from one to the other before settling on Najaran. "There don't seem to be any yummy spells here," he complained in a slightly nasal whine.

She scooped him up. "We'll find a good spell card later," she assured the feline. "But I wanted you to meet a new friend."

"Meow nice!" The cat said turning to face him again with a feline smile.

[themasterthief]

Well that was certainly a show. A card trick that even Kaito couldn't perform. It was a good thing he had seen magic used both here and back in Ryslig before now or his reaction might have been more dramatic.

As it was he took a quick step back and looked ready to bolt before the feline appeared and settled neatly on the ground between them. His stance relaxed but his face was now more strained by a mixture of odd emotions than before. To be honest, he wasn't sure how to react to this sort of magic.

"...hi," he responded a bit belatedly as he found his voice again.

He looked up at Najaran's eyes instead of staring at the cat as he went back to addressing her. "Well, that's certainly a nice party trick. Definitely haven't seen that one before."

[najaran]

"Party trick?" she asked, confused.

"Can we make friends later?" the cat asked her. "The spell feeling here is weird, and I can't get enough of it into my core to get a real taste."

She blinked, surprised, then knelt down. "Alright. I'll call out Eidolon if he still wants to make friends. You get some rest."

"Or Gremlin," the cat advised before vanishing in a flash of light, leaving Najaran holding a card with his image on one side in her hand. She was frowning thoughtfully now, looking around as she tapped the card to her chin.

[themasterthief]

"A joke."

Garrett watched the exchange with a quiet demeanor. He wasn't sure what to make of it. He didn't know much about magic. He hadn't gained any as an arachne and had only witnessed a little bit here and there in Ryslig. And a bit more here on the train but he didn't even try to pretend he understood any of it.

"I haven't seen magic like this before. It's not like anything from Ryslig or anything I've seen from anyone else here so far. I think." He didn't know if anyone here already had anything similar in their magical arsenal. He hadn't seen any yet.

[najaran]

"Hmmm?" she turned to face him. "Really?" she asked, surprised. "You've never met another Cepter?" Was he not a card then? Odd. Interesting to be sure, but odd.

[themasterthief]

"I don't even know what a cepter is. Is that what you call a user of magic in your world?" Or the specific type of magic she was using, perhaps. But either way he didn't understand the concept. He just heard the word for a staff whenever she said 'cepter'.

[najaran]

"Cepters are people like me who can use the Culdcept cards," she explained. "There aren't that many of us.... But you kind of look like the sort of creature found in the cards sometimes, so I figured lots of Cepters would have sought you out."

[themasterthief]

"Hm. Never heard of those either," he mumbled more than replied to her. Those cards were probably unique to her world then and he doubted he would find any on the train's adventures. Interest in them immediately lost.

He was, however, now very aware of what she was implying. His tail twitched behind him before he got it under control and tucked it back further against his back. "I'm not a card. I'm not a creature you can lock away and summon at will. I'm not even supposed to be a monster at all!" His right eye flashed with an odd glow briefly before he (more) calmly continued. "I was human once, before a different place similar to this train nonsense stole me and turned me into an arachne. And now I'm here with the rest of the people."

[najaran]

"Well I know you're not a card now," she said with a chuckle. "And I wouldn't force anyone into their card even if they were, unless they were hurting people. But you were transformed into that?" she asked, her eyes a bit wide. "Can we fix it? Do you want us to fix it at this point...?" she asked. Maybe he liked how he was now.

[themasterthief]

The thief took a moment to settle himself. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he reopened them he looked down at his hands, twisting them first one way and then the other. The dark chitin shined in the light at certain angles.

"I don't know how to get rid of it. I thought--" It was gone once. He had gone back home for a brief snippet and it was gone. But then he'd been pulled back and it had happened all over again. And now he was here and it was still with him. "I don't know if it can be fixed."

[najaran]

"Hmmm...." she considered. "Tell you what, if anyone would know, My Master would. Or at least he'd know someone who would know." Like Grubel, maybe. "He knows someone back home who can read the text at the core of everything. But hopefully he knows someone else." She shuddered. Her time with Grubel wasn't a good memory, but it had gotten them the aid they needed. "So when we figure all this out, you can just come back to Gilman Isle with me!" Bright optimistic smile.

[themasterthief]

"That's...an idea," he responded carefully. It was a possibility, he supposed. But first they would have to figure out this train and how to escape it. He didn't have high hopes there.

[najaran]

She misread his hesitation. "Only if you want to, that is," she said, looking up at him through her bangs. "If you're happy as you are now, I'm not going to try and force you to change, you know."

[themasterthief]

He shook his head. "We'll see. One problem at a time, right? We have to figure out this train ordeal first."

[najaran]

She nodded, rubbing the back of her neck, sheepishly, "You're right."

[themasterthief]

Garrett backed further into the train as a pair of passengers boarded nearby. "It's fine. It's a nice offer. One day...maybe I'll be normal again."

Well, as normal as he ever was anyway. The Primal kind of took away what little of that he had well before Ryslig changed him. Trickster be damned, he had the worst of luck sometimes.

[najaran]

She moved closer as he moved back. "Maybe!" she said with a hopeful smile.