Well, you're reading a really old post, aren't you? Please don't tell me you're going through my post history--I was a terrible typist when I first joined these forums. I actually forgot to capitalize "I" a couple of times... *shudder*
In any case, I'm using this post as a sort of test post / vault that I can easily edit and find again. Apparently, preview doesn't always show exactly what'll appear, and actually posting things somewhere makes it easier to check how things look in different browsers and on different devices. Also, I can easily share this with other people by either sending a link or just saying "I edited it into my very first post on the forum", which is quite convenient.
You smile when you open Ada's laptop up. You seem to have been
just fast enough after she left the room; the password screen doesn't pop up, so you have access! Hehe, she always gets angry when you use her laptop without her there. Apparently there's some stuff she thinks you shouldn't see. Well, now you can finally find it! With her at school, you'll have plenty of time to find everything on her laptop, you're sure!
You start by opening the "browser" and clicking on the button that takes you to the video site. A bunch of videos appear, and you stare at them. You... can't read it at all. It's made worse because you're pretty sure this page is in that weird language Ada spouts off sometimes. _Some_ of it looks like words you've seen before, but you can never really understand enough.
So instead you call for Pumsy, who appears a moment later, rushing out from the closet like he'd been in there the whole time, just watching you and waiting to be called. He runs over and hops on your lap.
"What do you want, Sophia?" he asks you, staring up at you with those adorable golden eyes. You point at the screen and ask him to choose a video for you.
He stares for a long time, then chooses one--represented by a picture of a cat. Of course. You sigh, and click it anyway, hoping there's not too many cat videos to go through.
...About an hour later, you're still clicking through cat videos with Pumsy, mostly in silence. Sometimes you laugh, or coo, but Pumsy doesn't seem to be entertained. Actually, you don't think he likes cats, despite being some kind of cat-thing himself. Though there's _one_ more you want to see.
It's of singing cats."...Pumsy, can cats actually do that?""Sure!" he says, then he turns to you and opens his mouth super wide, slamming it shut after a moment. It's... not as cute as the cat in the video; Pumsy has
way too many teeth. You ask him not to do that again. He complains, but complies.
You stop looking at the video page then, clicking on random buttons and sometimes typing random keys, until you find something that looks interesting. Eventually you stumble across a mostly black page, with writing you can't read, and sparse images which are just... weird.
You have no idea what this is. Until Pumsy chimes in, saying it's an entrance to a labyrinth. In response, you try to jump up... immediately falling backwards out of the chair, tumbling for a few seconds before you regain your feet. You come up with your shotgun readied, aiming it at the labyrinth entrance inside the computer.
Pumsy sits next the the knocked-over chair, casually licking his paw.
"It's not a real labyrinth! A human just made a picture that looks like one."It takes you a few seconds to process that, then you relax, your excitement turning to curiousity. A human depiction of a labyrinth? Maybe this is some kind of training guide, and you just don't know how to read the words? You return to the laptop, though you keep your shotgun ready, and stay on your feet. You don't know what dangers this page might contain; it's better to be safe.
You stare at it. It doesn't look right. It looks more like it's hovering in front of the hands, not held in them, and the hands and creature look like they're... glowing? They have an aura?
"What is that thing?""A baby worm?""Is that a type of witch...?"Pumsy shakes his little tiger head cutely.
"No. It looks too small even for a witch of horror? I think it's a familiar.""Is it dangerous?"Pumsy doesn't answer, simply staring at the picture absently. You suspect you'd find an explanation in the text... if only you could read it. Oh well; you can just shoot on sight to be safe. You scroll down, hoping for a diagram explaining what to be careful of, or how to harm it... but there's only more pictures.
"Oh, a magical girl! Pumsy, do you know who this is? Maybe you could ask them about these pictures!"Pumsy stares at the image for several long seconds before responding.
"That's a normal human.""...Why do they look all sparkly and weird, then?""I'unno! Maybe a witch caught them and corrupted them. And they were made into a familiar. That happens sometimes!""Why are they holding other familiars, then?""Those are big rats."You scowl at the small animal. That doesn't answer your question.
"Okay then. Why are they holding big rats, Pumsy?"Pumsy blinks at you, an unreadable expression on his small face.
"I'unno."You sigh, and return to looking at the laptop. There's a
lot of text beneath that one, just in a giant continual block. You think you recognize some of the words, but you really don't feel like trying to eke out a meaning from it; you just keep scrolling until the next image, which is... unsettling.
You scroll down a little farther, and... there's just one word repeated over and over again. "Grow." Which you think you understand... except it only makes you more confused, so maybe not? What the hell does this have to do with growth? Is that black thing growing out of a person? IS that a person?
"...Pumsy, what the fuck is this?""I think that's a human.""What happened to them?""Maybe a witch is eating them?""Is the... black thing, a witch...?""No."It is so frustrating to talk to this idiot cub.
"Then where is the witch eating them???""Dunno. She could be anywhere! If they're in her labyrinth, she can eat them. Maybe she IS eating them with the black thing!"...That's really worrying. Anywhere? You think about Isabella's labyrinth, the people on the lower levels being attacked by animate chains, even though Isabella was high above them. And you vaugely recall that familiars need to be involved
somehow... though you don't know where you recall that
from. And familiars can take lots of shapes, so there's not really any limits to how a witch could consume her prey.
...You feel unpleasantly anxious, staring at that image, so you scroll down.
And down.
And down.
Why the fuck are there so many copies of the word "grow"?! It takes you three minutes of scrolling to reach the bottom, and then it ends in just that word, colored blue, like a link. You hesitate for a second, then you click it.
The link leads to a page that's just a single image, of a screen with some text and a bunch of other boxy technology. It's not very similar to the other pictures; were they inside labyrinths, and this one outside? Why did it all end with a link to
this? You feel terribly confused and vaugely worried.
"Sophia, is it your birthday?"...You don't answer. You don't know precisely when your birthday is. Maybe it is?
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Topic: D&D: The mercenaries - Game Concluding (Read 129126 times)