TAKSHAKA

[soulping]

[ The Traveler steps in front of all of you, her arms raised dramatically! ]

Today, we take the first step of a very, very long journey together! This dream belongs to a young man, a criminal and his gang who on an otherwise normal heist has gotten in way over his head! Normally, this would be a nightmare, full of blood and death and abject horror!

Fortunately, I have taken the liberty of altering this dream so that it is completely safe and above all, fun! It would not do to have your first foray into the world of unreality to be so unwelcoming! The goal of this game is to survive, reach the end, and solve the mystery...

The mystery of the Train Tracker!

Comments

[barrette]

[ ...well, she's glad the death and horror parts are omitted. ]

How do we solve the mystery? Will there be clues?

[chuggachuggasnoozesnooze]

Yes, there will! You only need to guess his identity at the end of the dream.

[swordedpast]

Survive?

Didn't you just say that this is completely safe? Then why is survival one of the goals?

[chuggachuggasnoozesnooze]

No harm will come to you.

[swordedpast]

What about anyone else?

[barrette]

Alright! Let's get started!

[ FIST PUMP!!!

followed by a wince. ]

Ouch...

[chuggachuggasnoozesnooze]

Just talk to the conductor!

[ There's a young, red-haired conductor standing by Takshaka's train. ]

[chuggachuggasnoozesnooze]

Nobody will be harmed, not even the figments of the dream.

[swordedpast]

I'll hold you to that, Echo.

[chuggachuggasnoozesnooze]

My name isn't Echo...

[barrette]

Swan, be nice! Ask her for her name!

[swordedpast]

--well, I didn't catch what it was.

[barrette]

[ promptly shuffles toward the train! ]

Hello!

[swordedpast]

Jeez, fine. I suppose if she keeps her promise I'll even use it.

[soulping]

[ He gives a small bow! ]

Hello! Are you ready to embark?

[barrette]

Good.

[chuggachuggasnoozesnooze]

My name is Delriza.

[barrette]

Uh-huh! -Oh, wait, do we need to get tickets?

[soulping]

You should already have them!

...Unless, of course, you are stowing away.

[ SUSPICIOUS GLARE.

If you check, though, you totally do have tickets. ]

[barrette]

[ she quickly checks her uniform and- ]

Here they are!

CAR 1

[soulping]

[ A young conductor ushers you aboard, his frumpy red hair gleaming beneath his hat.

You're in the dinner car of your team's train, where some very clearly high-class people are mingling...for the most part. There's some people up at the bar that you can tell are LESS THAN SCRUPULOUS. Also, one of them is apparently a cowboy? It's 1931, for godssakes.

The cowboy appears to be telling the young nervous man a story. Something about a TRAIL TRACKER, that appears on trains to murder everyone, at which point the train vanishes...obviously a urban legend, but the nervous man proceeds to FLIP THE FUCK OUT ABOUT IT, and runs off out of the car, insisting that he needs to find the young conductor to warn him that everyone on the train is going to die.

The moment he vanishes, you hear the sound of a pistol firing, and people start to panic. Welp.

OBVIOUS EXITS ARE EAST.

> ]

[soulping]

Thank you!

[ Advance to CAR 1. ]

Re: CAR 1

[barrette]

[ hey, Takshaka dresses like magical girls, they don't notice weird clothes.

but ooh, she tries to listen in on the story and peers after the nervous young man, then jumps out of her seat the moment the gun goes off. ]

Excuse me! I need to get through!

[ as one would expect from a HERO, Sparrow does the opposite of what a reasonable person should and tries to push through the people in the car to chase the nervous man. what if he was shot?! ]

CAR 2

[soulping]

[ As you leave the dinner car, you see a group of people in black suits, carrying cases for musical instruments, running into it. The nervous man seems to have stopped for a second, watching them as they file in, wondering what the christ they're doing when someone just fired a gun.

OBVIOUS EXITS ARE WEST, EAST, and NORTH.

> ]

Re: CAR 1

[soulping]

[ It's hard, but eventually you make it through!

Advance to CAR 2. ]