Quote:
You are in the ruins of Erli. Smoke billows out of one of the laboratories. You hear a cry of fear.
What do you do?
It took but a blink - or perhaps a heartbeat - and Roamer found himself inexplicably in the Ruins of Erli. The buck blinked, took a second to steel himself and take in his surroundings. He had never visited these ruins before, though he had spent much of his life somewhat nearby, and though he couldn't quite verbalize why, he felt an odd chill creeping into him as he drank in the scents and the sounds all around him. The buck's ears swiveled forward and back, trying to pick up any hints or disturbances in the area. He paced quietly, feeling the nervous energy in his limbs, tail swishing in unbidden agitation.
As the moments ticked by, his nostrils flared to pick up the scent of smoke and shortly after, his ears caught the sound of a cry wafting from the same direction. It was behind him. In another blink, the buck became a ball of motion, whirling around to face the smoke. His eyes widened as they caught sight of the tower of smoke rising from the laboratory, but even as they did so, his body had begun to move.
A wave of adrenaline flooded his body, and he felt emotion bubbling up inside. Fear? No. Some kind of anger. It spread through him before he'd even quite processed what it was, but it consumed him almost immediately, seizing every limb and giving them strength as he galloped toward the voice.
How dare they endanger some innocent, helpless soul? Roamer didn't know who
they were, nor had he any idea whose cry for help that was, but it didn't matter.
He charged toward the smoke, feeling the temperature rising as he neared the blaze. The cry came again, from somewhere in the depths of the laboratory. The buck barely slowed to take in the scene - he couldn't. All he could think of was getting closer, of doing
something, no matter what. That poor voice didn't deserve to be hurt or to die alone in a blaze out here in the ruins. With barely a thought otherwise, Roamer dove into the smoking laboratory, ears pitching forward to catch the sound of the voice again.
"Where are you?!" He bellowed, not bothering to smother the urgency in his voice. There was danger here, that much was clear.
"Help me!" Came the voice again. "I can't see!"
"Keep talking to me!" He called out, letting his ears guide him toward the voice. "And don't you dare stop." This last he added more to himself than anyone else, said through gritted teeth and the smoke began to sting his eyes. He couldn't just sit and let this creature perish. He
couldn't. The anger he felt in his heart told him he had to see this through, told him he would never forgive himself if he didn't find that voice.
He pushed his way farther into the lab, heedless of what he was shoving or kicking out of the way. Once or twice, his leg struck some larger, less movable object and he tripped, but each time he caught himself and delved even further in, all the while calling to the voice. The moments felt like hours, and when he finally found the trapped, terrified little Jackhop, Roamer felt like he'd been inside for days. But a weight lifted from his heart almost immediately.
"There you are," he said, relief flooding through him, the anger evaporating almost as quickly as it had come. "You're safe now. Come with me."
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