"Are you sure this isn't retaliation for taking their body?"
Doubt that the host didn't want her dead snowballed with every obstacle. Pitfalls, mazes, really? Which third-rate survival program was this! What about floating across spaces or phasing through walls like ghosts in movies? That certainly could have made death worthwhile.
\Unlikely; our goal this time coincides.\
So they don't know why this is happening either...
"And if we don't share the same goal?"
\The body will be seized by hook or by crook. Which philanthropic organization did you take us for? Not even charities aspire to improve the welfare of each individual worm.\
"Fair enough." You're a worm, your whole family are worms!!!
Taking a deep breath to calm down, Ruxin decided to give it a push while Vois was still talkative, "So what is the goal?"
\You'll find out in time... that is, if you are more capable than a ground crawler.\
Tch, they clammed up too fast.
"When."
\?\
"When I prove I'm perfectly capable." Keep yapping while you can because imma make you eat dirt—
"Done th're, lass?" An unfamiliar voice suddenly cut in.
Ruxin glanced around warily, "Uhhh, Vois, was that you?"
\Do I sound like a squirrel inhaled helium?\
More like a glitchy television mated with a dated text-to-speech reader... but she digressed, guess that was a no.
"Wokay wokay, I und'rstand. We all needa talk ta the little denizens in o'r minds, but time is ah'waiting. Attention h're!" This time her ears caught where the voice came from, and she turned towards it, only to have her blood run cold.
"My my, that's not'ah face to show on the first meeting, now is it?" The newcomer raised their shoulders, shaking their head in a scandalised fashion.
"As if you're one to talk!" Ruxin shot back at the clown. Upon closer examination, they were a humanoid donning a brightly-coloured clown mask and costume.
A closed-eye jovial smile was painted on the mask, which was accented by a large, blue nose. The oversized, stuffed bodysuit topped with a lime green ruff and a fool's cap with silver bells at their ends made it impossible to tell their gender. Finally, held in both their gloved hands was a lute. If Ruxin was more knowledgeable on the subject, she'd have recognised the short-necked, rounded-back instrument as a gittern, the ancestor of guitars.
The getup was meant to look comical but she couldn't shake off the unsettling feeling the clown gave her. Maybe it was the lack of eye holes in the mask. Or how tightly it seemed to fit their face. Or how out-of-place they looked in this godforsaken place. Ironic, because she was the intruder.
"If you're done checking m' out..." The jolly, odd-pitched voice teased. In the time it took Ruxin to blink, the ten foot between them suddenly shrunk to three. At this distance, she realised the jester was shorter than they had looked from afar; the eye section of their mask reached her own chin at most.
YOU ARE READING
The Placeholder (World Hopping)
Adventure"You heartless bitch!" "Tut tut. Language, my dear. Better heartless than hurt like you, don't you think?" Ruxin thought she would live to the maximum lifespan but who knew a moment of thrill seeking would result in her demise? But the dice of fate...
