#tsxstarter

A quick glance upwards confirmed Frey’s thoughts. Clouds were blocking what should have been a clear view of a sky full of stars, glowing ever so slightly against a black backdrop.

Letting out a soft sigh, Frey cast her gaze back down towards the ground. By all accounts, she should have been back in Selphia by now. She’d only left to gather a few supplies in the forest, not get hopelessly lost. She had no idea where she was, and it was too dark to have any chance at reading her map.

She kicked at a rock that lay in her path, taking a few more steps before deciding it would be best to rest for awhile. Venturing a little ways off the path, Frey sat down and glared at the trees surrounding her.

The sudden snap of someone - or something - stepping on a twig startled Frey, causing her to look up in alarm, fully expected a monster. She soon found herself facing what was most decidedly not a monster.

The way the morning sunlight splashed over the cobbles of Selphia's Square was very similar to the time-worn stone slats in the Water Ruins, where Danyla had been holed up for the last week. All the gems she had mined were displayed in a miniature treasure chest she had snatched from a Goblin Pirate, and she was hoping the cute arrangement would up her sales for the day. She was desperate to buy something sweet for desert tonight, unable to eat another grilled fish.

Today was the day, those stubborn lampgrass plants should finally be ripe! It had taken Aria months to grow them to perfection, and now she was headed to her personal tropical getaway to harvest them: at Blessia Island. It was a beautiful place, she always thought it'd be great for a resort, except that it's completely riddled with wild monsters. Dawning a thin sweater to keep warm on the trip, she scuttled past the local clinic toward the Sainte de Coquille square.

A peculiar purple shade adorned the fountain, who's water had turned dark and was running over the edges. What in the world had Roy done now? Him and his stupid pranks. Aria moved closer to the fountain, that should'e been completely frozen over in the first place. Before she even had a second thought about what else seemed wrong about the situation, she found herself walking through an intense storm, the fountain completely vanished.

Random portals have appeared in every single town, but where do they lead to and how did they get there? Nobody knows. Yet.

Just by stepping within a 10 foot radius of the portal will get you sucked in, so you won't be able to do much investigating because you'll be caught off guard!

If your town has a Goddess Pond, Lake, Spring, etc. etc. etc. then the portal will be sitting right in front of that body of water. (Or to the side of it.)

If your town is a Rune Factory location then the portal will appear in the center of your town where it can't be missed.

Once you've been through the portal, you will notice a heavy blizzard passing through as if you activated it, so you'll be stuck in that town for at least a week! Might as well get to know the townspeople since you can't go home, right? (You should probably also figure out where you are and if there's even a way to get back home because the portal disappeared soon as you were dropped off!)

Violet busily rushed around the kitchen, fumbling with ingredients in her hands. Ignoring the several steaming teapots on the stove, she hastily grabbed several fruits. Cherries, oranges, pomegranates, and apples that were reminiscent of her own cheeks! Being as short as she was, the young nurse required a stool to reach the higher-up cupboard that contained sugar.

Puffing out her cheeks in frustration, she blindly reached for the sack of sugar, along with some vanilla and ginger.Violet could practically taste the delicious, refreshing tea already. She closed her eyes in quiet musing. "Heehee...!" A giggle slipped out of her, and a nervous blush followed.

The room was beginning to steam up with sweet-smelling smoke from the neglected teapots. Violet hopped off the wooden stool to lower the heat on the stove. The first teapot contained orange tea, sweet and rich with the flavor of autumn. She inhaled deeply as she poured the contents of the second teapot, taking in the calming scent of chamomile.  She grinned ear to ear while pouring it into china cups. 

It was cold. Much colder than Mushroom island, at least. Shea didn't understand why it was so cold here, yet still relatively warm back on his island. Maybe it was just something about this place? He didn't know, it's not like he normally traveled, especially during the cold season. It wasn't like he had much of a choice though. Shea wasn't as lucky with his autumn hunting as he usually was, leading to a shortage of food stored up for the winter. And, despite the island weather, most animals had made themselves scarce, so he was having issues finding food apart from some mushrooms. Even with the mushrooms though, he wouldn't have enough food to get through the rest of the season.So, in hopes of finding more food, he hitched a boat ride, getting off in some land he didn't remember the name of.

Wandering around this place though, he wasn't sure if he'd even be able to find food. He had his knife out, just in case he found some animals, but so far, he'd only found some edible plants. Maybe he just wasn't looking in the right places. After all, there was a town nearby, so they might have already gotten all the animals in the area. Or they might know where he could find animals, or just food in general.

Aria hated it when people treated her like a child, she'd been taking care of herself and managing an entire ranch for 3 years at least. She was capable, skilled, and darn smart! Why did everyone have to fret over her?! She stomped through the crunchy snow, sword in hand, prepared for an attack. Oh and there's the fact that she could take down whole patrols of hobgoblins by herself, too. She huffed, still fuming over what the Mayor had said to her earlier about "just being a kid." Did he think she wished for this? She'd love to have no responsibilities and just do as she pleased like the other kids, but she didn't have that option. 

She had become too wrapped up in her emotions that she hadn't sensed the reaper that had been trailing her, and was taken by surprise as it whispered up behind her. She gripped her sword to swing, but it was too late, the reaper's scythe sliced right through her heavy coat. She cried out, rolling into the snow to dodge it's next attack before disappearing into the frozen fog that had settled on the mountain.

Aria whimpered as she righted herself, attempting to wield her weapon left-handed. Her arm felt hot on the inside, even though the chilly wind was penetrating her coat. The blood on the snow frightened her, and she dare not stay to examine her wound for fear of the reaper returning with company. 

  Aden walked along the dungeon, eyes vigilant and sword at his side. Hilt in his hand, he twirled the base of the blade between his fingers, the echo of his boots against the rocky ground being the only sound audible. The setting was dark and slightly depressing even -- so the sight of another person in such a place caught the young man by complete surprise.

  His voice was about to raise, to call across to inquire why someone would be in a place like this - well besides him of course, but you could say he had a reason. Those his eyes widen briefly at the sight of a group of monsters near this stranger, so while unsheathing his other sword he ran over to the person's side.