UrbanEvolution — Roleplayer Guild

Benedict Kaspin, Theresa ot an Bol'hjar, and Keeper Julian

Julian's cave-turned-inn was, to say the least, quaint. It seemed liked it'd been specially carved out with separate rooms, big enough to handle even folks of Ben's size and stature. There were assorted lighting devices, candles and crystals, all lining the walls. The beds were heaps of materials like hay, cotton, feathers, all wrapped in sheets with wooden frames around them. Comfy enough, but it wouldn't beat most you see in a proper town.

Ben and Theresa were seated in one such room, with several beds varying in size, and plenty of light.

"Well, it's better than sleeping in the dirt trying not to get rained on.", Ben said, setting his inventory down next to the bed and crossing his arms. The place smelt like wood and scented candles, which was odd for what looked to be an inn carved out inside of a cave. He wasn't complaining, but the Keeper seemed eccentric enough to (probably) be the cause. Ben was semi-hesitant to leave his bag alone, since the Keeper had stated that others came through. Ben was naturally overprotective. That was burnt into his genes. Even if he was being protective over a stash of coconuts his tempermant still DEMANDED THEY BE PROTECTED.

"Any bed's better than that." Theresa replied, leaning back. "You sleep on leaves for more than a few nights... this is practically luxury, right here."

Ben snorted. He had lost count on how many time he'd had to do that. But, at the same time he'd never actually had a bed to sleep in. Only pelts. Even in his tribe.

"Is this what humans call a bed?" Ben said, leaning down to look at the piece of furniture. He poked it a few times to test it. This was... different.

"Well I call it a bed. Anyone of royalty would call it fuel for a fire."

"Never had a bed before." Ben said, putting both his hands down on the body of the bed and pushing down to test how structurally sound the contraption was. It was a force of habit. He was... very used to things breaking under his weight. It groaned under his push and he pulled back, but seemed to trust it well enough.

"Seems like it can hold you, at least." Theresa commented, leaning forward. "But we've already slept, so... now what do you want to do?"

"We should probably start planning where to go next." Ben stated, turning to look back from where they came. "We have... doors now. I can go talk to the Keeper if you want. See if we can find another settlement."

"Sure, go ahead." Theresa replied, "I'm gonna stay here, see if he has a washroom anywhere."

Ben gave an awkward smile and backed out of the room, nearly tripping over his tail as he did so. He doubted Theresa wanted him anywhere near her while she handled her... womanly duties, whatever those may be. As soon as he was out of the room and had shut the makeshift door for her privacy he went back down the alcove to meet with the Keeper once more.Julian was, once again, seated on a rock by one of the cavern entrances, merely observing the Junction and everything it was comprised of, listening to the birds chirping above. He turned his head towards Ben as he approached.

"Facilities to your liking?" He asked.

"Not enough booze" was Ben's reply, the corners of his lips curled upwards ever so slightly.

"Ah, my apologies. I have a friend who comes around every so often, gifts me assorted beverages. I'll hold some for you when he pops in next." Julian said, smiling.

Ben seemed semi-surprised that his joking complaint would actually be rectified, but didn't say anything to contradict himself. "Right... Uh, so these doors lead to places all over the Continent?"

Julian nodded, turning his head and pointing his finger towards a red, wooden door that seemed to be losing its paint. "That one leads to a village by the coast. Rightly normal, I believe. But, shabby." He redirected his finger towards a cavern entrance covered in strange, dark markings. "That one leads to a rather nasty town called Aardvale. Not a... good place to be, really." He waved his finger around, searching for more doors and caverns to point out. "And..."

Ben followed the man's hand around the room, rather impressed by the sights around him. But ultimately his eyes landed on a relatively small, but human-sized door. It was mechanical, and technical in appearance. Much more complex than the other doors based upon the gears that could actually be seen turning on the door's face. It also had splotches of flesh around its frame and on the door itself, which seemed to be playing an integral part of the door's self maintainance. As if the door was alive.

"What about that one?" Ben questioned, raising his massive arm to point at the locked entrance. He walked closer to it and knelt down to get a better look at how the mechanical opening worked. "Where does this one lead?" he said, running his hand down the door's face, searching for some kind of handle.

Julian followed alongside Ben, smiling, chuckling a bit. "Tell me Ben..." He said, "You have a fascination in machinery?"

"I was... am, an inventor." Ben stated, looking over the door carefully. Finally, he found a latch and twisted it clockwise, causing a doorknob to release from the door like a spring. "Just like a grandfather clock..." Ben said. He put his massive hand around the doorknob and twisted, only to find it was locked. He twisted harder only to find that even with all his strength, he couldn't overcome the door.

"Been locked for a long, long time." Julian said, stepping further forward. "I've never found the key, but... I believe I know where it can be found."

"Where? What's behind this door?" Ben questioned, looking over his shoulder to the Keeper with a raised brow. Julian turned, raising his finger to another cavern entrance. "That cave, over there..." He began, "Leads to a little spot on the side of a mountain. On top of that mountain, there's a city. A city of metal, flesh... and dust. It was called Voldoa. It was home to both men and monsters, living together, working together. They're all gone now, and the place is abandoned... for the most part." He turned to Ben and continued, "I've been there a few times, both when it was alive, and when it was dead. Some things, some... constructs, still wander about the ruins. Around the time of its downfall, that door showed up. I don't fully know what's behind it, but it's definitely connected to Voldoa, and its masters, the Engineers. And I think whatever's behind it is something truly special. Something that was very, very important to the Engineers."

Ben seemed to get lost looking at the door one more time, running his hand over the glass that protected the turning gears and muttered something under his breath.

"City of men and monsters... Wish others could've taken a page out of their book."

The idea sounded... beautiful in his mind. The abandoned city would be a great place to find scrap metal too. His curiousity had been spiked, and the adventure... it was just what he and Theresa seeked. This was great.

"It didn't turn out as well as they hoped." Julian stated, "But, that's a more common ending to things than's right around here."

"Theresa!" Ben called, turning his head as to not shout in the Keeper's ear. He needed to tell her this.

Out of the alcove, Theresa emerged, wearing only in her vest and trousers. She looked down and over at Ben, shouting back, "What?"

"WE'RE GOING ON AN ADVENTURE!"

"Great!" She replied, albeit seemingly just playing along with Ben's sudden enthusiasm, "Let me get ready!" She turned back and into the alcove.

"Best be on your guard around Voldoa, Ben." Julian said, looking up at the saurian. "It fell for more reasons than one."

"A city's a big place. Any idea where the key might be?"

"I don't even know what the key looks like. But in your case, I think your best bet would be the old district, on the other side of town from where you'll enter. Look for a large, dome-shaped building. That was the administration center."

"Thank you. And the dangers? Any things we should watch for? Areas we should... avoid?"

"Don't go below ground. Things down there... not very friendly."

Theresa emerged from the alcove again, now fully dressed and ready to set out. She had even grabbed Ben's bag of coconuts. She threw it off the edge for the fire-lizard to catch, then darted down the pathway and approached Ben, calling out to him, "Where are we headed?"

Ben gave her a firery, devilish smile. "You'll see. C'mon!", he said, shouldering his pack and waving for her to hurry up as he set off down the cave exit that the Keeper had pointed him down.

An adventure indeed.
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