[Area] Grand Desert region, Korous - Late modern era

Once again, the ragged woman falls flat on her face. Upon sitting up, she notices that Elsey has fled the area.
A wave of relief washes over her as she smiles timidly.

> SΘ SHE LISTENED. MIGHT W▲NT TΘ KEEP T▲BS ΘN HER... Eh, I'll use somebody else in town instead.
> YΘU M▲Y RETURN TΘ YΘUR SIGN HΘLDING ΘBLIG▲TIΘN.
Having partially processed Elsey's words of encouragement from earlier, she has enough strength to talk back.
'...You know as well as anyone that there is a chance of escape... with recent news about the space program...'
> DID I HE▲R ▲ REFUS▲L TΘ CΘMPLY?
A threat. She knows as well as any other that great misfortunes befall those who do not follow what the voice of time tells them, or so the story often goes.
'...no, grand master of all space and time, you did not.'
She rolls her eyes at that ridiculous title. Even for the voice of time it seems like a bit much.
> ...GΘΘD.

Begrudgingly, the ragged woman gets back up and puts on her signboard again. maybe one day she'll be free of these demeaning commands...

---

Meanwhile, somewhere across town, somebody is walking out of the supermarket with a small shopping cart full of bagged groceries.

...a voice commands out to them.

> THE FIRST TEMPΘRIC LURKS THE STREETS. BE MY EYES ▲ND SEEK HER ΘUT. SHE R▲N FRΘM ΘLD TΘWN WITHΘUT ▲ DΘUBT.
The shopper chucks the shopping cart with all the groceries into the back of their truck and hops in, forgetting to remove the shopping cart.
Its wheels uselessly lock as the shopper in their truck leaves the parking lot.

---

You are currently running away. Which direction do you choose?

Walking quite quickly, most people nearby give you some space to pass by. There are somewhat newer looking stores on this road, though distraction seems to make most of it just look like whatever. Some very strange vaccuum cleaners sit in a display case, but then again it's not even clear if they even are vacuum cleaners. Some sort of cleaning device, probably.

Up ahead there is a park in the middle of the city. dry yellow grass seems to have been planted in this area, as well as some strange wiry... trees seemingly suited for an arid climate? They at least look like trees.
A breakdancer of some sort is busting some moves on a square of cardboard. It's hard to say if these moves are like any you've ever seen. Not anything impossible looking, just somewhat of a different style. A very compact boombox right next to the breakdancer is loudly blasting a typical hip-hop beat.

A truck with a locked shopping cart thrown in the back makes its way to old town, parking to the side where the roads thin too much for driving. somebody jumps out of the truck and puts on a pair of strange glasses with some buttons on the side. Some buttons are pressed and a screen lights up on the lenses.
An array of artistic depictions of "The First Temporic" show up on screen. The truck driver scans the area for any matches. A few false positives, but no full matches. The driver walks into a nearby barber shop. The folks there usually know what's going on.
Tiny bells attached to the front door make a little noise as it is opened. There is a modestly-sized crowd inside. A few are getting their hair done, 1 guy is waiting, wearing a cowboy hat, and a single clipper operator stands behind an occupied chair with an electric shaver in hand.

"Hey! it's been a while, Chauffeurn! you here for a clip?" the clipper operator stops clipping for just a moment to greet the new person at the door.
"I'm on business right now. I'm looking for a rich girl. Dressed in a traditional style."
"Whadaya want with a rich girl? did yer partner cheat on ya? Lookin' for a sugar momma?"
"I told you, it's strictly business. Have there been any suspicious rich girls passing by around here or not?" Chauffeurn uses a serious tone.

A dude in a cowboy hat, sitting in the waiting area with a hunting magazine speaks up.
"I saw one. she wandered outta the desert 'bout an hour ago, looked like she didn't know the place. She's prob'ly long gone by now."
"hmmm... did you see which way she went?"
"Eh, not really. Didn't pay much 'tention."
Chauffeurn grumbles while checking local traffic surveillance video feeds on the glasses. Scanning for any traffic disruptions in the past hour, an overhead video appears on screen with the local signholding doom bum attacking a girl in a dress. She is able to dodge both leaping tackles and then briskly walks off northwards. the timestamp says it was 30 minutes ago. Following the other video feeds along her trajectory, it leads to the park.

> TH▲T'S THE ΘNE.

"...I think I've found her."
"yuh found yur gurl?" Some odd... probably a lady? getting a perm asks from across the room.
"Yes. I'll be going now. Thanks."
"Don't be a stranger! Drop by another time and shoot the breeze for a bit!"
Chauffeurn considers the offer for a moment. It's been a while, that's for sure. Could probably use a haircut too.

> DΘ NΘT FΘRGET YΘUR T▲SK. GΘ TΘ THE P▲RK ▲ND FIND HER.

The sudden message snaps the driver out of reverie.
"...maybe later. I have to go." Chauffeurn walks out the door and back towards the parked truck a few blocks away.
A parking ticket was placed in the windshield and the shopping cart nowhere to be found. The groceries are thankfully intact. Must have been the cops. Oh well, parking tickets are cheap to pay off. That can wait though, something much more important than a simple worldly matter like a parking ticket is at hand.
The driver steps on it and navigates towards the park, just barely driving within the speed limit.

---

Meanwhile back at the park, some college students are throwing water balloons at each other. They seem to be having fun.
It seems about hot enough for a water balloon fight.
Suddenly, one of them accidentally flies off and splats in your face. The water is only slightly chilly, but it's thankfully only water.

One of the collage students gasp while most of them are still laughing and throwing balloons at each other. Upon seeing your reaction though, the one that was kinda freaking out breathes a sigh of relief... and gets hit while distracted, dragging them back into the fray.

The mobile device works as usual and thankfully blends in well. It light look a liiittle outdated, but probably not too much.

Meanwhile, A truck is approaching the park... and it doesn't seem to be slowing down for anything, not even the sidewalk, or the grass. There are bystanders fleeing the area from the path of the crazy driver. A strange green dog-looking thing yaps from a hopefully safe distance away before hiding behind a tree.
The collage students have also gotten the heck out of here, though one of them is trying to film it with their own phone, before getting pulled away by another that cares more about not getting ran over than recording.

The truck is approaching your location!
What will you do?

You successfully make it to the back of the truck. a rollbar cage and the lip of the truck bed seems to be fairly graspable. Bags of groceries move about, unencumbered by anything tying or weighing them down. average sized boxes of some strange pasta noodles escape from a plastic bag. some bottles of what seems to be vibrantly colored sports drinks roll around the back. some cans made of a non-metal material feature printed pictures of unknown fruit.

> I C▲N'T BELIEVE TH▲T ▲CTU▲LLY WΘRKED!
> KEEP HER IN THE B▲CK BY ▲NY ME▲NS NECESS▲RY ▲ND BRING HER TΘ THE MINE.
> I W▲NT HER ▲LIVE.
Chauffeurn nods and continues driving right through the park, towards the road on the other side.

the collage kids are positively terrified, except for that one with the spiked hair.
"that. was. Awesome! tell me you got footage on that, Dirge!"
"I... got most of it. woulda gotten more if Goshen over here wasn't such a wimp."
"are you two crazy?! that maniac over there just straight up kidnapped princess plum over there!"
"haha, princess plum? like from Endurio brothers? come on, she looks nothing like princess plum. more like her twin princess tulip. I wonder when she's gonna get her own game again..."
"this is not the time for ticking around! we gotta call the cops!"
"no way, we're not calling the fuzz. I'm still on probation from our last stunt."
"Burnett, get a grip. you've been staying out of trouble since then, right?"
Burnett stumbles a bit. "...I, kind of, held onto something last time we were at the mini-Mart?"
"Shoplifting? again? Seriously?!"
"I forgot the candy bars were in my pocket, okay?"
"sure, you just 'forget' four choco-bunchers in your pocket."
"cut it out! I'm calling now."
"but dirgence!"
the student with the phone dials 572 and contacts the police.
"hey, some dude in a Cheney sandclimber just mowed through the park up here, and I'm not sure how, but she snatched some rich girl here too. it almost looked like the girl... jumped into the truck? I'm not sure, others accompanying me were interfering with my recording. She already sped away but it looks she went north towards the industrial district. Alright, we'll stay here."
"...did you seriously just use a feminine label on that truck driver? how do you know that's what they use?"
"shut it, Goshen. this isn't the time for being nice, this is the time for action."
"oh great, here comes Goshen on The Discourse again..."
"it is always a good time to use preferred gender labels."
"literally nobody cares here."
"well I do! last year I met a...blablabla.....blabla..."
they continue bickering until the cops show up later.

meanwhile, you're in the back of a truck going about 30 mph down the road. it looks like the traffic light is going to switch up ahead.
What will you do?

The truck makes its way to the shortest lane to stop for a moment while the traffic signals cycle. The light is now red.

> The spritelog works, that's surprising... erm-CΘNTINUE TΘW▲RDS THE MINE.
> ▲NSWER HER QUESTIΘNS, BUT DΘ NΘT LET HER ESC▲PE.



Chauffeurn turns around to face you from the driver's seat.
"We haven't met, but I know who you really are, Initia. My master has been looking for you. Only the true First Temporic would be able to make such a glorious leap like that. It was a gamble, but my faith hasn't led me astray yet."

The light turns green again and the truck begins to accelerate slowly, going up to the speed limit.

The truck continues down the road.
> ...FUCK, I FΘRGΘT SΘME BITCH M▲DE TH▲T N▲ME UP THΘUS▲NDS ΘF QU▲RTERYE▲RS ▲GΘ ▲ND M▲DE IT MΘRE PΘPUL▲R TH▲N HER RE▲L N▲ME.
> (reminder to bring misfortune to aforementioned bitch)
> SHE GΘES BY ELSEY. C▲LL HER TH▲T INSTE▲D ΘF INITI▲.

"Oh, excuse me Your Firstness, I forgot, Initia isn't really your name. Most legends tend to use that name for you instead of your actual name for some reason. As I was saying before, my master has been trying to find you, Elsey. For the stability of the timeline, so the story goes, he cannot enter our world. He can however, follow and lead a select few Chosen Ones across space and time. I am one of the chosen ones. His guidance has been a blessing since the moment I had first heard his words."

A massive canyon wall can barely be seen in the distance, obscured mostly by large buildings and a dusty haze. Chauffeurn pauses for a moment, waiting for an answer. The master is silent... for now.

"He has not told me what he wants with you, but I trust that it is the right thing to follow his commands. Truth be told, even in the stories, it was always ambiguous what his relationship with you was like. It seemed he sought your company on multiple occasions, but your reaction was always a negative one. Would you mind enlightening me upon your past with him?" Chauffeurn seems to be quite curious.