--- Shane Lude 1: Crossroads --- [16:55:18] --SESSION START-- [16:55:18] >> Shane walks slowly along the dirt road, his destination invisible in the darkness. The rain drives down all around, loudly peppering the hood of his raincoat. He's in no great hurry, as the road never seems to end, for all its twists, turns and intersections. [16:56:34] «ooc: Do I get the innate feeling that I'm anywhere? » [16:57:49] «ooc: The road cuts through plains of tall grass, but you don't really seem to be anywhere nor have any ideas about where you're going or why. » [16:58:36] * Shane ambles forward, enjoying the loud rapport of the rain against, well, everthing. [17:00:44] >> In the choking blackness, he doesn't notice the man until they're nearly face-to-face. The stranger stands at a crossroads, his form tall and imposing but his features completely hidden beneath a raincoat. [17:01:42] * Shane dead-stops inches from this figure. [17:03:17] * Shane looks at him ponderously. [17:03:17] >> For a few minutes, total silence reigns. Finally a deep male voice comes from the depths of the stranger's hood, loud enough to be heard over the torrent. "Which way are you headed?" [17:03:33] * Shane looks down each path of the crossroads. [17:03:43] "...I... don't know..." [17:03:49] «ooc: It doesn't seem to matter too much which way you go -- both paths are identical and you've been walking forever, practically. » [17:04:22] Man: You had better decide. It is unwise to spend any more time in the rain than you must. [17:04:49] ...I like the rain... [17:04:57] Man: ... [17:05:00] ...Which way are you headed? [17:06:29] >> The man turns and heads down one of the two paths. [17:06:52] «ooc: did I recognize the voice? » [17:07:08] «ooc: do I get the feeling that he's good or bad, in dream logic? » [17:08:14] «ooc: The voice sounds like every other voice you've heard and given little thought to. He doesn't seem to be good or bad. He's just there. » [17:08:30] * Shane shrugs and walks down the other path. [17:10:23] «ooc: ... » [17:10:32] «ooc: I'm typing stuff here. Hush. » [17:11:12] >> Time passes slowly. Each step is like the one that came before and the one that will come after. The weather never clears, and the road never changes. At the road's side, drenched ferns and tall grasses blow in the wind. At length, Shane arrives at another crossroads, much like the first. Here a crude sign points to one of the paths. [17:12:16] * Shane looks up to read the sign. [17:13:09] >> Whatever words the sign once held have long since been weathered off. Its meaning remains distinguishable only because one end has been cut to a point. [17:14:10] * Shane blinks, and turns down the pointed-to road. [17:14:46] «ooc: Er, going down it, or just looking? » [17:15:02] «ooc: do they both look the same? » [17:16:28] «ooc: Yeah. » [17:16:48] * Shane walks down it. [17:18:49] >> Another indeterminite length of time passes in the rain. Eventually he arrives at another sign and crossroads, distinguishable from the last only in that the sign points a different direction. [17:19:51] ... [17:20:00] * Shane walks down the pointed-to road again. [17:20:44] >> Another indeterminite length of time passes in the rain. Eventually he arrives at another sign and crossroads, distinguishable from the last only in that the sign points a different direction. [17:20:47] «ooc: :D » [17:22:41] * Shane stops. [17:22:59] * Shane moves the sign to face the opposite road, and walks down that road. [17:23:08] «ooc: Hee. » [17:23:45] >> At length, he becomes aware of a second traveller on the road with him, from the sound of wet footfalls behind. [17:24:11] * Shane turns to look. [17:24:57] >> A man is approaching from a short distance behind. It could be the same man, or it could be another of similar build. [17:26:04] * Shane presses forward, and will stop when he's in hurting-distance, and turn. [17:26:30] >> The man stops as well. "..." [17:27:01] "...hello." [17:27:41] Man: "Hello." [17:27:57] «ooc: ...er, that needn't have had quotes. Oh well. » [17:28:36] Who are you? [17:29:48] Man: I should ask you the same. [17:30:03] I... asked first! [17:30:25] «ooc: nix that » [17:30:43] You should... but I did. [17:30:58] * Shane looks at the man as if he is obliged to hand it over, now. [17:32:08] >> The man takes a few steps ahead to stand beside Shane, looking past him at the road beyond. "I am just a traveller. I've been walking these roads a long time." [17:32:49] ...where do the roads lead? [17:33:26] Man: This I do not know. I imagine that we will find out when we arrive. [17:34:13] Shall we travel together, then? [17:34:36] Man: For a time. [17:34:48] * Shane nods and walks by the man. [17:36:34] >> The time seems to pass more slowly together, as the presence of a stranger makes it difficult to enter the trance-like march the road demands. After a time, the man speaks up, asking, "Who, then, are you?" [17:36:53] ...I don't know anymore, to tell the truth. [17:37:19] Man: Oh? [17:37:29] I once was someone else, and then I changed into someone else, and then I changed again, and I'm afraid of what comes next. [17:38:10] Man: Afraid? [17:38:15] * Shane nods. [17:38:31] I don't know much about it, and I don't like not knowing. [17:38:40] ...You may call me Shane for now, though. [17:38:52] Man: Very well, Shane. [17:39:04] >> The two reach an intersection at last. This one has no sign showing the way. [17:39:37] * Shane pauses. [17:40:38] >> The man pauses as well, apparently waiting to see where his companion goes. [17:40:51] Is there any difference between these roads? [17:41:50] >> The figure's shoulders rise and fall in a slight shrug. "Some have a sign and others do not. I imagine that different paths lead to different places." [17:42:01] * Shane nods. [17:42:06] * Shane looks at the roads. [17:42:43] >> The roads are identical to each other and all the roads behind. [17:42:55] * Shane takes the left road [17:43:45] >> The man follows along, and together they continue down the endless dirt path. [17:45:18] «ooc: my pose again? » [17:45:26] «ooc: aye » [17:47:12] >> Again, after walking for some time the man speaks up. "Do you normally travel alone?" [17:47:18] "Usually..." [17:48:48] Man: It is wise to be careful, then. If you turn an ankle on a stone or fall victim to some other malady, there will be none to assist you. [17:49:09] "...I have recently come to understand that." [17:49:22] ...It is... good to have those you can trust? [17:49:25] Man: Oh? [17:49:35] * Shane actually sounds surprised he said that. [17:49:47] «ooc: er, ignore the oh » [17:50:53] Man: It is. Can any man truly trust any other, though? That is a source of much contention. [17:51:12] I... know this. It is what I have lived by... [17:51:37] ...Yet... latly... [17:52:19] «ooc: My pose, or yours? » [17:52:20] ...I think I don't want to be alone for now. Terrible things await me. [17:52:33] Man: Why? [17:52:50] ...Because they always have been there, and now I know their names? [17:53:34] Man: I see. Perhaps that, then, is what lies at the end of the road. [17:54:28] ...Then perhaps I should not travel the road. I fear that they will destroy all that I am if I meet them... yet I am drawn to confront them. [17:54:54] Man: But if you do not continue along the road, where else is there to go? [17:55:16] Aren't there other roads? [17:56:10] Man: All I have seen is this road. Perhaps if I had taken one path instead of the other I would have found something different. [17:56:29] Then why not go back and see? [17:58:06] Man: I do not believe to be possible at this juncture. Every moment I spend walking back is a moment I could spend walking forward. [17:59:13] I see. You must not dwell on that which you cannot or will not change, though. It serves no purpose. [18:00:28] Man: Do you think so? [18:00:58] Dwelling on the unchangable is pointless, yes. However, dwelling on something that can be changed is a different matter. [18:02:07] «ooc: yours » [18:02:28] Man: Perhaps so. [18:04:22] >> The darkness is so thick around them that when the road ends, it does so with little warning at all. The grassy field simply cuts off, and the ground slopes down into a steep hill. [18:05:22] Have we come to the end of the road? [18:06:49] >> The man takes a step onto the slope. "It appears so." He descends cautiously, so as not to lose his footing on the sharp incline. [18:07:21] * Shane follows. [18:07:30] The way has become trecherous... [18:08:02] Man: Sometimes, that is how it is. [18:08:19] Will the road pick up again? [18:09:01] Man: I believe this is the end. [18:09:16] >> The slope becomes steeper and steeper, until it's nearly vertical. Finally, at the point when the descent is more like a fall, the ground levels out completely. A vague black shape rises from the darkness a short distance ahead. [18:09:51] ...You don't think they'll be here, do you? [18:10:07] * Shane stares at the Shape. [18:10:24] Man: All that is left is to see. *walks towards the shape* [18:10:36] * Shane fumbles around for his gun. [18:10:55] «ooc: you have it » [18:11:13] * Shane grasps it like it were his lord and savior. [18:11:22] * Shane takes two steps forward, and pauses. [18:11:38] * Shane fumbles for his kercheif-wrapped rune... [18:12:28] >> The rune is not there. [18:12:54] ... [18:13:07] * Shane swallows, and walks forward with his gun at his side. [18:13:13] >> As the stranger walks towards the shape, his form is obscured by the shadows of the night. "It was a very long trip indeed. Somehow, though, I had that it would be longer." [18:13:21] «ooc: er, juxtapose those two » [18:13:40] Your journey is over? [18:14:19] >> Shane draws nearer. The man no longer seems to be there, and he gives no answer. Above, the stormclouds part slightly to reveal a sliver of starlit sky. [18:14:35] (m)...is mine...? [18:14:43] * Shane walks to the shadow. [18:15:01] --SESSION END--