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test drive — winter

WINTER TEST DRIVE
Welcome to the test drive and thank you for your interest in The Village. This test drive is not game canon but will allow players the opportunity to experiment with game mechanics, the setting, and the flexibility of choice allowed by this game. The following prompts are examples of typical situations characters might face in the game. At least one thread from the TDM is required as part of the game's application process.

The setting details and locations are still being unveiled in the game, so prospective players are welcome to play with established locations or create their own within the general setting of Mathias.

( Recommended listening: ♫ )

INTO THE ENDLESS
Winter has arrived in Mathias. Snow falls steadily, big puffy flakes that pile up quickly in drifts as the wind blows them around town. The trees in the forest are covered in it, the branches bending under the weight and shaking when the piles fall from them to the forest floor. The roofs of buildings become solid white and drifts form in doorways as the wind tries to rush inside anywhere it can.

New arrivals wake in the forest, with its winding paths twisting back on themselves as they branch in either direction. It isn't safe to stray from the path, there is a menacing fog that waits just a few yards inward in any direction, but for now, there is nothing impeding movement along those snow-covered paths that cut through the trees. Continue stumbling in one direction and you'll reach the small town, coming out near the mishmash of quaint houses that nestle beside crumbling ruins that used to be homes. But choose the other and you'll seem to stumble on forever, huddling against the wind until there seems to be a clearing up ahead—

And then nothing. The earth opens up before you in a ravine so deep that the bottom cannot be seen. The other side can be seen, tantalizingly out of reach, and there is the sense that safety is just beyond, if only you could get there. But with that sensation is also the knowledge that if you stay here, you will die. The edge seems unsteady, like getting too close would set it crumbling and send you tumbling into that dark endless nothing that waits below...

BODIES WITHOUT SOULS
Benedict Books is nestled quaintly on the square surrounding Mathias's Town Hall, a thick layer of dirt covering the front windows. Looking through those windows provides a much different view than looking directly into the shop through the doorway — vague shapes and forms of figures seem to be inside, though no details can be determined through the streaks of grime. Flickers that resemble flashlights can be seen passing along the windows from time to time, and on occasion there is even a muffled tapping sound that comes from behind the glass, as if someone is trying to get your attention. The same distorted figures can be seen looking through the windows from the inside outward, but moving from one side or the other reveals... nothing. There is nothing there, and perhaps it is all in your imagination.

A portrait hangs at the front of the store to illustrate the namesake of the little shop... that may, in fact, not be so little. Dust covers everything in sight and detritus litters the wooden floor, as if someone left the door open and allowed half the forest inside.

The books are mostly familiar titles from the 1990s and earlier, but close examination will reveal that key details seem to have been changed. They fill shelves in neat lines along the walls and rows in between, the building almost seeming to stretch on forever until, finally, a small office can be seen tucked away in the back. A glance back toward the front door gives the impression that the room isn't that big, after all. Strange that you previously thought so.

Prying the door open is the only way to get inside the small office; the hinges have rusted and are caked with dirt and grime. Search as you might, there are no interesting bits of information to be found here beyond a few inventory lists on the little desk. There is, however, a green and gold safe in the corner that, no matter how many times one turns the dial, simply clicks and clicks. Scratches around the safe indicate that someone tried to get in at one point, though there's no indication as to whether they succeeded.

THE END APPROACHES
Standing at the center of Mathias, the town hall is a modest two-story building that would be welcoming if not for the faded sign, chipped paint, and deafening silence within its empty halls. It's a typical government building, with a reception desk at the front and rows of identical offices within, the names half faded from each door. But what catches the attention is a large bulletin board on the main wall beside the reception desk, once meant to hold flyers or announcements for the community.

What it holds now is decidedly different. Tacked onto the board are scraps of paper covered in an assortment of handwriting styles — requests for supplies should anyone find them, pieces of information shared in the hopes of someone understanding the strange symbols and mathematical equations, notes about those missing or recently deceased. And over the center of the board, tacked on top of other papers, is a map discolored with age. Mathias Township can be read in the corner, a stretch of forest displayed beneath it, but everything else has been smeared to illegibility with red... ink? Upon close examination, a keen eye will realize that the ink is actually blood, though whether it is human is unknown. And scrawled across that forest, nearly covering the illustration of a clearing and a large house within, are the words

he is coming
A number of tarnished metal pushpins are scattered around the edges of the board, waiting for future messages to be shared, and a stack of pristine white paper and pile of cheap ballpoint pens rest on one of three chairs beside the board. The chairs are clearly meant for those waiting for meetings and are covered in the same layer of grime as everything else in the building — everything except the pens, paper, and bulletin board.

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Do you think you're dreaming right now?

[ it is possible, he supposes, but his dreams tend to be much, much more violent and they don't often involve her. ]

Does this feel like a dream to you?

No.

[ elena had wanted to say yes, but she doesn't want to lie about something she knows she doesn't believe in. she doesn't think she can dream any longer.

she inhales deeply and peers up at him. ]

Dreams don't feel as real as this. [ she squeezes his hand as tightly as she can. ]

[ he agrees though he doesn't say as much. he just nods and starts walking again, using her grip on his hand to try and drag her a little faster. ahead, he can see what looks like a dark object in between a thicket of trees and he wants to hope it's some kind of house. ]

Come on, I see something.

[ once they're inside and out of the snow, they can talk because he is very surprised to se her and she'd made a rather inane but maybe significant (now that he thinks about it) comment about his hair.

they really do need to have a chat, don't they? ]

You need to move faster, Elena.

[ she wonders if the dark silhouette ahead is merely a mirage… that both of them can see. a powerful witch could do that.]

I'm moving as fast as I can.

[ she tries to sound amused, but exasperation seeps into her tone. sometimes she's starkly reminded that she's just a mere human surrounded by far more extraordinary people. she only weighs them down like a very heavy and annoying ball and chain.

she tries to lengthen her strides and then stumbles. ]

[ elijah doesn't say anything in response to that because he knows and he doubts she's going to allow him to grab her and haul her off with his speed. she seems a little too stubborn for that. ]

We're almost there.

[ he thinks they are, at least. he tries to focus on the dark image but he can't quite get his eyes to sharpen. he should be able to see it but he can't. that...is something to think about later.

when she stumbles, elijah's quickness comes in handy and he catches her before she ends up face first in the snow. he pulls her against him, a frown on his face. ]

Are you all right?

Yes, just… [ she's painfully human and utterly useless against snow, apparently. add that to the list of things she's not good at.

standing upright, she doesn't brush him off or step away from him. peering up at him, she huffs a sigh, wanting that to rid her of the tension and frustration building inside of her, but it accomplishes nothing. she recentres herself as best she can, not wanting to appear disoriented or flustered in front of elijah.

she forces a smile. ] I'm fine, I promise. If you want, you can vamp speed up to the mysterious black thing and check it out. I'll catch up.

[ the last thing she wants is for any distance to separate her from the one person from home she recognises, but she knows she's slowing him down and she feels grossly awful for it. ]

[ before she even finishes talking, elijah's shaking his head. he's not going to leave her here where she could suddenly disappear, never to be seen again. he doesn't know where they are and he doesn't know what lurks out here so right now, the safest places she could be is with him.

so, he's staying. ]

We're not separating, Elena. We'll get there together or we won't get there at all.

[ he tightens his grip on her hand and looks at her, trying to make her believe that they could and would do this. ]

Come on, we have to go. Hold onto me and we'll get there, all right?

[ although she hasn't known elijah for long (and she barely knows him, in retrospect), he had been willing to give her the choice to potentially have a safety net for his brother's sacrifice. he hadn't shoved the potion down her throat nor had she decided that what he felt was best was the right path for her. she'd known damon for two years, and she knows that if he was here, she'd be over his shoulder as he ran with her across the snow.

elena likes having a choice, and even though her choice is to give up and let him get to somewhere warmer, she makes another choice and believes him.

gripping his hand tightly, she inhales to only let it out. she nods and begins to walk. ] I'm slowing you down. Nothing you say is going to make me think otherwise, Elijah.

Elena, shut up.

[ his words are sharp and they broker no argument. he is not going to be convinced to leave her behind right now. with his luck, she'd disappear and then he'd have to find her before he found some place for them to shelter. ]

Just stop talking and focus on walking. We're getting closer and nothing you say is going to make me leave you here while I go see what it is. So, just stop talking and keep walking.

[ it's so shocking to her to hear him say such mundane words that she can't help but laugh. she stifles it as best she can, overwhelmed by how strange this all is. out of everything that she's experienced—the sacrifice, jenna's death, her own, waking up here—having elijah tell her to shut up strikes her as the most absurd.

it's refreshing. ]

Can we talk and walk?

[ she tugs on his hand to make him walk with her, not once letting her fingers slip from his warm palm. the snow feels denser than before like it's trying to test her will to not shut up and tell him once more to get on without her. ]

It'll help distract me by how overly warm it is.

Very well.

( elijah wants to focus on getting to what he hopes is a house where they can warm up and figure things out but if elena needs to walk and talk to be able to keep pace, he's going to do that.

he nods. )

What do you wish to talk about?

( if he was hoping that elijah was going to have a conversation topic ready, she had another thing coming. )

[ the weather seems like a poor topic of conversation for them. they've spoken of vampires, witches, werewolves and hybrids that speaking of how the world around them is entirely too cold seems very daft.

she wants to ask him if he's okay, but if she does, it means they have to talk about her. and elena doesn't want to speak of her, or how she's lying dead on the ground of the woods of mystic falls. ]

Have you ever walked in the snow in a suit before?

[ all right, so, she found a compromise. she glances down at his slacks, stained and wet with snow, and tries to imagine elijah in a parka. she finds it impossible. ]

Would you be surprised if I say yes?

[ because he actually has done this before. it wasn't fun the first time nad it's not fun right now but he's done it and he's survived so he's not going to let this situation beat him either. ]

Have you ever walked in snow before at all?

[ he knows it gets cold in mystic falls but he wonders if she's ever been out in it like this. ]

Mystic Falls snows, but not as thick as this.

[ she'd been able to walk from her house to the grill without too much trouble, but these woods, this snow… it all feels different. maybe it's her disorientation and the fact that he has a haircut that's making it harder for her to walk.

yes, she thinks it's definitely the haircut. she'll blame that for all her troubles.

she sighs, feeling slightly tired. ]

I could walk from my house to the Grill and back again, but now I feel like I don't know how to walk.

You're walking fine, Elena. You need to stop thinking about what you can't do and you need to focus on where we're going. We're going to be fine.

[ he wasn't going to allow them to be anything but. he had things he had to get back to and he doesn't think elena wants to just lay down and give up in a snowy landscape that she's not familiar with. ]

Don't make me carry you, Elena. I know you wouldn't much like it and I honestly think I might drop you in the snow.

[ she cracks a smile, looking ahead as she lugs herself forward. ]

You wouldn't drop me. You're too noble for that.

[ and she thinks that he would feel utterly bad for it to the point where he'd pick her up and carry her so she doesn't drop to the snow again.

she pants softly, tired from the exertion of walking in the snow for so long. her brows furrow. ] I feel like that black thing is getting smaller and smaller, not bigger.

It's not.

[ truthfully, he's not sure if that's true or not. the good thing is that the black shape hasn't disappeared but it's hard to tell if it's gotten closer. he should be able to see that but something is inhibiting his vision a little more than it should be.

that's something to be concerned about later. ]

We're going to get there, Elena. How are you? Are you all right? Can you feel all your extremities still?

[ she laughs, shaking her head incredulously. ] Of course, you say extremities.

[ it's such an elijah thing, being impersonal while being personal. it's a talent that she sometimes admires and envies, and sometimes… well, she doesn't know him enough to truly make a judgement. she just wishes the wall she can feel herself walk up against would crumble. ]

I think I've lost two toes, my hand, and I think my butt has gone numb.

[ she's fine, just very, very, very cold and tired. ]

I would offer to check to make sure everything is still attached but I'm not sure that's appropriate.

[ elijah glances over at her before he pulls her closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to try and use his body heat to warm her.

in the distance, the dark spot finally starts to loom larger. they're getting closer. ]

Just a little while longer. We're almost there and then you can warm up and let all of your limbs fall off.

[ he thinks looking at her butt is inappropriate, but pulls her closer like they're very best friends who intimately know one another. elena wonders if he understands the meaning of that word. ]

And my butt goes numb. [ she peers up at him, grateful for him not leaving her to fend for herself. brows lifting, she reminds him, ] That will fall off, too. I hope you don't mind a buttless doppelgänger.

[ the black blobby thing may be in the distance, but she feels like she has a longer way to go. being tucked into elijah makes her feel less doomy and gloomy. ]

I think the cold is really starting to get to you if you're talking like that.

( and that's concerning which means he just grips her tighter and tries to walk a little faster so he can get her inside.

finally, after a few more feet, the shape coalesces into a small, dilapidated cabin. he sighs and keeps going, peering over at elena every so often to make sure she's still with him. )

Keep yourself together for a few more feet, Elena. We're almost there and then you can sit down and I'll help get you warm.

[ she had merely been joking, not trying to vie for him to pull her closer. her random thought of winning shocks her. she doesn't want elijah to hold her… even though she very much enjoys the warmth of his body. ]

I was just…

[ no matter what she says, he'll worry. it's strange to think he genuinely cares for her. he only wants her to be whole for klaus.

her voice is quieter, sheepish. ] I was just joking. I'm fine.

[ just cold, feeling slightly delirious, and very, very warm. she keeps her gaze on the black shape in the distance, wondering if she openly stares at it if she'll not only be closer to it but it won't dare to disappear. ]

Because time is the perfect time to joke.

[ but he says idly, only half focused on her as he reaches out for the door on the suddenly large cabin in front of them. it takes a few strong pulls but the door gives and elijah pushes elena inside, trying to get her out of the cold before he follows her in and pulls the door closed.

it's still cold inside the cabin but much less so than outside. there's not much within save for some old furniture and a burnt candle but it's enough. it'll give him time to think.

he blows out a breath and turns to elena. ]

Are you all right? Sit down.

[ for all her recklessness and general stupidity, elena does wonder if it's wise for them to be walking into a cabin that's appeared in the snow in a strange little town that neither of them seem to have any familiarity with. that sensible thought fades away the moment she's inside, still feeling cold but less so indoors. ]

I don't need to sit down.

[ she lifts her hand and brushes her fingers against the side of her neck, holding her elbow with her other hand. if she sits, she knows she won't be able to get back up again. her body feels sore from lugging herself through the snow.

standing by the door, she looks around. ]

It looks like no one's been here in a long time.

Yes, of course you don't need to sit down. You are perfectly fine after trying to get me to leave you in the snow back there.

[ but elijah isn't going to argue all that much. if sh doesn't want to sit down, he cannot force her to sit down. he moves away from her, examining the room and checking it for anything that might surprise them.

once he deems the cabin safe, he comes back to stand in front of her, looking her up and down. ]

I really think you should sit down. You need to get warm and standing here, right in front of the door isn't going to help. Please, sit down.

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test drive — winter

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