Umbradimension: Eternight's Lunne
Finally coming to her senses from the resulting interdimensional travel, it only took MAGES. a quick survey of her surroundings to instantly asses these three things:
One, it was nighttime and absolutely dark.
Two, the ground was soft and wet from the absolutely pouring rain.
Three, and certainly above all, was the absolutely horrendous and depressing atmosphere, which was made more apparent by the combination of the above two and the seemingly eternal maze of dead trees she was in.
"A nice starting point for my search." The mad magician said in the flattest and sarcastic tone she could muster. Judging by the utter lack of any remotely modern-looking structures around her –since Dimension Tripper always drops her off in the same place she last casted it– she presumed she must be in an underdeveloped world that lacked the necessary resources needed to make something like a carbonated drink. This knowledge, coupled with the amount of time she had to wait before she could cast Dimension Tripper again –which was a month or so tops– deeply aggravated the mad magician. Does she really have to stay in this backwater dimension for a whole month?
Moving on from her grief, MAGES. began to maneuver throughout the muddy terrain in the hopes of finding a path she could follow along with and ideally, lead her to whatever civilization laid in wait for her. It took a while, but she was able to spot a long and stony path that cut through the sea of decaying wood, kind of like the sort you usually find in the classic horror-suspense films when a character is walking all alone with the pretense that they aren't actually alone.
–achoo!–
"Pitiful immune system…"
She really needed a place she could dry off and hopefully get a change of clothes from. If there were two things the mad magician learned from the years she had been dimension hopping, it's that contracting a sickness in a foreign world is a big no-no, and that dressing up in the clothes of a common denizen would help her a bunch in keeping herself from looking too suspicious and getting authorities on her tail. Making haste, she starts following along the rocky road.
Half an hour or so in her trek, the mad magician started to hear distinct clopping from behind her. Stopping and turning her head around, she noticed a carriage coming towards her from the direction she came from. MAGES. immediately saw this as her chance of getting to whatever the vehicle was going –which was hopefully a nearby city or town– and raised her staff high to try and get the attention of the carriage driver.
Before she knew it, the carriage was in front of her.
"Are you lost or something, Miss? You'll get sick from standing in the rain." The elderly, but still generic-looking carriage driver asked.
Sob story time.
"Actually, I was attacked by bandits. They ambushed and took over the carriage I was on and after killing its driver, took off with most of my belongings still in it. If you could just show some kindness and let me ride along until your first stop, I'd be eternally grateful."
Wow, it has been several dimensions since she had to use her admittedly rusty acting skills. She could've sworn that the poor carriage driver that witnessed it tried his darn best not to cringe at that horrible display of exaggerated posing and miserable tone of voice.
"I-I see… Well, you're in luck, Miss. My one passenger is on her way to the capital of Eternight, Lunne. You might be able to get some help there." Getting down from his spot, the elderly driver opened the carriage door for MAGES. and gestured for her to enter it. As a sign of thanks, the mad magician placed her hand on her chest and silently bowed at the man before taking a seat inside with whoever the driver's sole passenger was.
"Zzz… Zzz… Zzz…"
Oh, she's asleep. Taking in her frilly and extravagant black-red dress and absolutely prim-looking sleeping posture, it only took MAGES. a moment to deduce that she was of some higher class.
"I wonder what her reaction will be when she wakes up knowing she now has an extremely drenched co-passenger…" She mumbled to herself, when the carriage abruptly started moving.
"Erm… Ugh…"
"Of course."
Watching the nobility slowly and rather adorably open her eyes, the mad magician waited until she finished her fancy yawn before she introduced herself.
"Greetings, I'm MAGES.. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." She said in the most proper and courteous manner she could muster.
"Huh…? Hey… HEY, DRIVER! Who is this soaking bitch, and why the fuck is she here?!"
Wait a minute... That sudden change from a low-key whisper to a grating scream littered with curses, not to mention her short, light brunette hair and light blue eyes…
"L-Language, Madame Blanc. She had just been recently atta-"
"Fuck if I care! Look at the damned puddles of water she's making inside the carriage!"
So this was this dimension's Blanc. Aside from the different fashion sense, it looks like not much has changed about her.
"I'm dreadfully sorry, Madame Blanc."
"Tch. Use that tone again and I'll fucking bite your neck off." Blanc cursed one last time before sinking back into her seat while glaring daggers at the mad magician.
MAGES. swore, the fact that this Blanc was wearing a fancy dress was probably the reason she felt a bit more annoyed at this one's attitude than the other Blanc's she met. Being the calm and cool person she is however, she managed to survive the trip to Lunne without giving in to Blanc's death stare.
"We are here, Miss, Madame Blanc." The elderly driver announced to his two passengers.
"Finally. Even the damned sky closed up after forever." Blanc was the first to get out and made no wait in paying the driver and scurrying off to whatever event she was probably going to, leaving MAGES. to herself and the driver.
"I apologize if she called you a multitude of things during the trip. Madame Blanc has always been an infamous personality known all over Eternight."
"No, it's fine. I have friends that are alter- I mean, almost exactly like her. I can take it."
The driver sighed a sigh of pity when he heard this. Staring at the payment he just received from Blanc, he suddenly decided to start fishing the pockets of his dirty white pants, and after a few moments gave the mad magician its contents: about 2 pieces of gold, 8 pieces of silver, and 15 pieces of bronze.
"What is this, a fantasy novel?" Still, she was grateful –if not a bit guilty– that the driver even considered giving her some of his earnings. Looks like her acting was still pretty effective.
"That should be enough to last you a few days here in Lunne. Word of advice, there should be a guild opposite of the path Madame Blanc took. Going by your appearance, I presume you're a practitioner of magic?"
"This is too much like a fantasy novel, alright." MAGES. nodded.
"I was right." The driver let out a jolly laugh before riding his carriage again. "You can make a living out of the quests there. I heard mages are exceptionally well-suited for the guild here in Lunne. Good luck, Miss! Hyah!" Riding off into the night, the mad magician was finally left all alone in the scarcely filled streets of Lunne.
"Lunne and Eternight… What interesting names. My stay here may not be as boring as I first thought it would be..."
L/A/N: The amount of revisions this short introductory chapter went through was astounding. Truly a nightmare it was to write. D:
