Audio | @lucky

[mindofathief]

[The texting function is so finicky and takes forever, so this voice messenger works much better. There's half a minute of Duster poking at the tablet, checking if it's working.]

Oh.

Hello? Can everyone hear me? I'm at the scrapyard near the edge of the forest. I met a spirit that threw a locked box at me, and I need help breaking it open.

[Why couldn't the spirit be like a normal ghost and leave behind a present box instead?]

...If whatever's inside is important, I don't want to accidentally break it.

Comments

[equinoctials]

[ Riku doesn't see this stuff protecting anything greater than a table. They're about as useless as a coaster, in his opinion, but he's the opposite of someone who would be interested in collecting trading cards.

He doesn't want to burst his bubble, though. ]

If you're sure. Want me to wait around until they arrive?

[mindofathief]

[A weak nod. Duster uses the edge of the chest to lower himself onto the ground, where he pulls out a tablet and waits for more responses.]

...How far have people gone into the forest?

[equinoctials]

Hard to say. People are exploring all the time...

[ Riku doesn't exactly settle in, if anything, his cautious glances around and spread stance suggest he's standing guard. Duster would be better off asking someone with a map who can show him what's been found.

A moment later, an opportunity occurs to him. He glances at him, adding: ] The town hall meeting is coming up, right? You could ask there.

[mindofathief]

[A nod.]

There's a river past here. I can ask if anyone's gone past there yet.

[A look at the scrapyard.]

If we have woodworkers, we can build a bridge in little time.

[equinoctials]

Talk to a white-haired man named Aziraphale. He'll have your bridge up before you know it.

Do something nice for him in exchange.

[ It's nice that Duster's thinking about how he can help them proceed with exploring more and more of their surroundings, that enthusiasm, that drive? That'll serve him - and the rest of them - well in the months ahead. ]

[mindofathief]

[Funnily enough, Duster sounds kind of tired almost every time he speaks. He doesn't devote too much energy into his voice.

Yet he does hope he can get something done in the world of darkness, however small it may be.]

What does he like?

[equinoctials]

[ Riku's reserved manner and often carefully subdued responses tend to cause a similar impression. Maybe he's reading too much into it, but he assumes Duster's questions are pointing to a level of interest in their survival and success here. If he's wrong... well.

Wouldn't be the first time, or the last. Riku considers his question, bumping the knuckles of his fist against the point of his chin thoughtfully. ]

He's a well-dressed guy who seems to always have food on hand. Oh, and he looks after a guy calling himself Soldat. I bet if you did something for either of them, you'd get in their good graces.

[mindofathief]

[That's such a vague hint, but he's gone with vaguer stuff. "Steal something that looks important, you'll know it when you see it" isn't a good beginner-level thief quest, dad.]

Is...this how we do favors around here?

[equinoctials]

[ Just JRPG hero things.

Honestly, Riku could definitely see Aziraphale doing something for nothing. He's the type. The thing is, Riku doesn't feel too good about directing someone else to take advantage of his generosity. ]

Doesn't seem too different from doing favors anywhere.

[mindofathief]

I'd think that if a bridge has to be built, everyone would chip in. It's how we did things in my village.

[The few times he was awake in the day, his dad took him to a house raising project. Everyone pitched in, it seemed.]

[equinoctials]

[ He doesn't think there were probably too many in Duster's village who were routinely recovering from severe, sometimes life-threatening injuries, or struggling with significant trauma. Or were keenly aware that they had less than two years, at most, left on the clock before they faced the real likelihood that they would meet with a fate so terrible, the Lighthouse keeper would rather reset.

Seems like a lot to heap on a guy who just got here.

Riku exhales. ]

Maybe, if that was the only thing going on. Ask around at the town hall, I think you'll get a better idea of the situation.

[mindofathief]

["Just ask."

He's getting better at that part. He'll just do that and actually ask people for more information. Duster lets out a sigh and leans back.]

How long have we been on Beacon?

[equinoctials]

[ He asks a lot of questions. Riku, who can tend to be a bit more pessimistic than some of his other friends, leans against his bike and folds his arms, thinking it's less about any interest in particular and more about killing time until others come.

He could stand to give people a little more credit. ]

Half a year, I think? Ours was the first ferry since the previous group was reset. Back then, we had just Rastus, Dr. Ingram, and Winters to guide us.

[mindofathief]

[That's not a lot of time. But it's also a lot. There's so little of this island (he assumes it's an island) that's been explored in six months.]

We've only come this far?

[Though Riku's answer will have to be quick: help is arriving]