ARCADE SESSION: REBOOTED

[knux400]

THE FIRST PORTION OF THIS QUEST IS MISSING FROM THE FORUMS DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES! IF YOU'RE NEW, I'D STRONGLY RECOMMEND READING THE MSPFA MIRROR TO GET CAUGHT UP, OR USE MY SHODDY GOOGLE DOCS ARCHIVE OF THE DELETED PORTION. THANK YOU FOR READING!!

DISCUSSION THREAD

The screen flickers momentarily, as if the power went out for a split second. You feel... Different. You quickly shrug it off and remind yourself of what you were doing. You're leading Echo on a rescue mission of sorts to locate Topaz, the canary you spawned for her. Along the way, you met Clemont, a mysterious but friendly TCP with a pitchfork, and... whoever this is.

So... What do you think of Clemont, Echo?

He's... interesting. He seems friendly, but careful at the same time, I think? I'm not sure yet.

Once you arrive, you're greeted by a familiar voice.

Ah, there you are. I was wondering if you'd show up.

The structure appears to be a wooden door set into the stone wall.

You don't recall seeing anyone like this before, but you do recognize the voice as the one Clemont was talking to while you and Echo were eavesdropping. You tell Echo to apologize for being late and to ask how long they were waiting. Echo seems confused, but does so.

Sorry I'm late! How long were you waiting for me?
You'll have to forgive my attitude... It's been a stressful day and we weren't expecting so many visitors. To answer your question, I haven't been waiting long. I was wondering if you would also pay us a visit after I heard you talking with Clemont outside.
You know Clemont?
I only met him a few minutes ago, but yes, I suppose I do.
Oh! Well, my name's Echo!
Orkahm. Nice to meet you.

Orkahm steps forward and offers his hand to Echo. It takes you a moment to realize Echo doesn't know what shaking hands is, which would explain why she's just sort of standing there.

[seppawku]

>EXAMINE orkahm and explain to echo about shaking hands! i was going to say TEACH, but i don't think we can since we're out of our base huh.. maybe have her apologize and say we're not used to having company.

[victorianflorist]

Quickly tell Echo to grasp Orkahm's hand and shake gently.

Before we EXAMINE, we should ask Echo to ask Orkahm's God/Caretaker if it's okay for us to examine him..
If it is so, >EXAMINE Orkahm.

[knux400]

Thinking quickly, you tell Echo to grasp Orkahm's hand and gently shake it. She does so, and Orkahm seems satisfied despite Echo's confusion.



That's called shaking hands. You're supposed to do that whenever you meet someone.
Oh.
Oh what?
Nothing.
Would you mind asking them to ask their god if it's okay to EXAMINE them?
Uhhh, Trinket wants to know if it's okay with your god if she examines you?
...Okay with who if you do what?

There is a short pause.

...What's a god? I think I would know if I had one, which I don't think I do. Is it some kind of tool, or something you make?

You figure it would be pretty harmless to EXAMINE Orkahm, and frankly you're curious why he seems to have no clue what a god is.



You swear there's something nagging at the back of your mind that you're forgetting here...

[MarxzVulpez]

Talk to Echo and say:
Hey Echo, I think Orkahm might be one of the kobolds we spawned a while ago, could you ask them if that's what they are?

[knux400]

Hey Echo, I think Orkahm may have been one of the kobolds we spawned a while back, could you ask them if that's what they are?

Echo seems even more confused by your question, but obliges.

So... Are you a kobold? Trinket spawned some kobolds a while back.
...Yes, I'm a kobold. I don't remember anything about being 'spawned', though. Although to be fair, no one in our village can remember much of anything at all.

Orkahm pauses.

...I shouldn't have let that slip, should I?

Orkahm sighs and shakes his head.

Well, you seem harmless enough anyway. Why don't you come in and I'll explain a bit more?

Echo is hesitant, waiting for a response from you.

[1011686]

uh, guys, we never explained the whole "game" nature of this thing to Echo. Pretty sure that's what's confusing her right now. I'm not sure if we should? or at least how to phrase it if we do.

[skinstealer]

i say follow, but be wary!

[seppawku]

it should be safe to go w him.. it's up to echo's comfort tho

[victorianflorist]

Go for it! He seems friendly.

[knux400]

You tell Echo to follow Orkahm, but to be careful. She nods, and follows Orkahm through the door. The moment Echo steps through the door, a large section of the wall disappears, revealing what would be a cozy little house... if it weren't for the fact that it looks like a tornado hit it. Objects and furniture are knocked over and strewn everywhere, there's food on the floor, and there's a trail of gemstones leading out the door.



Just, uh, grab a seat anywhere. Sorry about the mess.

You quickly inform Echo what Orkahm means by this, and she obliges, taking a fallen stool and sitting down on it.

So... First, I guess some introductions are in order. I'm Orkahm, you know me already. The one cleaning the counter over there is Ihu, the one picking up the dishes is Taipu, and... Tamaru's probably in his room.
Hi! Are you a new person?
Oh, hey.
So... What's your name? The last person to come here had one.
...I'm Echo.
Echo. Nice to meet you.
Hi Echo!!!

Orkahm quietly motions for Taipu to quiet down a bit, and she does so, still looking at Echo curiously. Ihu is content to clean the counters, offering the occasional glance in Echo's direction. You can't see Tamaru, but it looks like there's still some closed doors in the back.

...So, to my knowledge, the word 'spawn' means to create or reproduce. You seem to think this Trinket person spawned us, and while I'm still not too sure what that means, you somehow knew- or at least had an idea- of what we were before we even said anything. We didn't even tell Clemont that we were kobolds, but you... You got the idea right away. Or this Trinket person told you.
Ohhhh, Orkahm's pontificating again!!
Shush, Taipu.

Orkahm briefly glances at the two before turning back to Echo.

So to explain what I said earlier... We've been having memory issues as of late. As in, we can't remember anything since we woke up this morning. Nothing at all, just a complete blank. The strange part is that we all know who each other are, and we know that this is our home, and we even have some semblance of a daily routine. But no actual memories, just... feelings. We act like we've been living together for years, and everything we can find in here points to us having a history here, but we can't remember a single second of it.
Like this necklace, for instance.

Orkahm is holding up a handmade necklace with an emerald neatly woven into the center.

I know I made it, but I don't remember making it. It just feels like something I would make.

Echo seems unsettled as Orkahm looks her straight in the eyespots. Ihu has taken an interest in the conversation and is looking in Echo's direction, too.

If I had to guess, you would at least have some idea as to what's going on.
...And if you know anything about the creature that attacked us and tried to steal a bag of gems, that would be helpful, too.

Echo hasn't the faintest idea what's going on. She's just sitting there, staring at Orkahm with a stunned expression.

[seppawku]

...this is a pretty intense convo to have Thru echo. would we be able to talk directly to the kobolds if they were willing to come back to our base? i dont want to hide things from her, but it’s not fair to have her be caught in the middle and overwhelmed.. i think we should tell the truth despite that tho

[victorianflorist]

Echo, would you be okay with helping the Kobolds clean?

[knux400]

This isn't the type of conversation to be playing telephone with, you think. You type /talk orkahm into the console, but...
ERROR: INVALID TARGET.
...It looks like it only works on TCPs or other players.

Um, Orkahm, you should probably chill. She looks a bit scared.
...No, I'm fine! It's just Trinket's being kind of quiet right now and I'm not sure what to say. I could try to explain who Trinket is?
Sure, I guess that would be a good place to start.
Okay! Do you want help cleaning this up while we talk?
Yeah, why not.

Orkahm leads Echo to the southern part of the house, and Echo begins straightening the rug as Orkahm collects scattered gemstones from the floor.
 

So... Trinket is like this person I talk to, except she's not really there.
An imaginary friend?
No, not like that. She's... somewhere else, I think. But she can see me, and what I'm doing, and she gives me advice sometimes.
...Go on.

Echo begins explaining who you are and what you can do- you're not entirely sure it's a good idea to be quite this up front about things, but having Echo stop talking now wouldn't look good. Should you say something or let Echo finish?

[seppawku]

let her finish! she has a right to talk abt it i think

[knux400]

Echo and Orkahm enter one of the back rooms, which seems to be a workshop of sorts. Well, it was a workshop anyway. Tools and materials are scattered everywhere, and the door is completely broken. The two begin cleaning the workshop as their conversation resumes.
 

Oh, wow.
Yeah, my room was closest and it had the bag of gems in it, so I guess it just went straight for that. Anyway, you were saying?
Right! So Trinket can make things, like the clothes I'm wearing or the house I live in. She also seems to know a lot, and she's really smart, even if she can get kind of... carried away sometimes.
How exactly does Trinket make anything if she isn't there?
Uh... I don't know! Stuff just sort of appears wherever Trinket wants it to.
...Go on.
So... Trinket also teaches me stuff, and tries to take care of me. Right now we're trying to find Topaz, my bird. He got taken by something we didn't see.
Something just took your bird from your house without you or Trinket noticing?
Well, I was away doing something else at the time, and I guess Trinket can only see what's right around me.
Is there anything else?
...That's it, I think! Did you want to ask anything else?
One thing. You said when we first met that Trinket "spawned some kobolds a while back". When exactly was this?

Thinking back, you couldn't have spawned the kobolds more than a half hour ago, but you also didn't tell Echo about it at the time.

All the kobolds are watching Echo. Even Taipu has fallen silent at this point. They can hear from the tone of Orkahm's voice that he's very close to something, but they're not sure what yet.

What should you say?

[cosmo]

i’m not sure exactly how we should explain but i do think it’s important to be honest. we want echo to be able to trust that we’ll tell her the truth in the future and the best way to do that is by telling her the truth now, even if it’s upsetting.

[seppawku]

..i guess, tell her when? i don’t know that it would help for them to know that we spawned her too, but if clarifying that might be important.. this isn’t something we should lie about

[1011686]

Telling them the truth probably is for the best, but I think it would also help to not go into depth on what this session is to Trinket and what it means to her (that is to say, a video game, and not all that much). Explain (to Echo, and then have her pass it on) that the world started as a blank slate, and we had the power to fill it with creations, so we did. The kobolds were one of those. We don't have control over the things we make though, so we wouldnt want the kobolds to feel like, they're indebted to us or anything.

[knux400]

You freeze for a moment, and Echo follows suit, clearly waiting on a response from you. After a few moments, you decide to tell the truth- just not all of it.

Trinket says it was about a half hour ago.
Well, there's no way that's a coincidence, because we only woke up around a half hour ago.
...Yeah.

There's an awkward silence while all four kobolds think about the ramifications of this new information.

...Trinket says the world started as a blank slate, and she had the power to fill it with things, so she did. But she doesn't have control over the things she makes. She doesn't want you to feel indebted to her or anything like that.

...If it helps at all, she also made me.

...Orkahm?

...Fuck.

Orkahm sits down slowly, placing his head in his hands.

So we're just... things.

After a long, uncomfortable silence, the kobold in the back speaks.

You know, this doesn't really change anything, if you think about it.
How can you say that? It's all fake.
No, listen- we started today not having any memories because of this weird group amnesia thing, right? But we still had a sense of being a family, and we were able to move past the whole memory thing pretty quickly because of that. Now we know we never had any memories to begin with, and yeah, that sucks, but nothing's actually different. We've got exactly what we had before- each other.
...
Trinket gave us a home and a sense of family. That's really all we needed.
...Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Thank you, Tamaru.
...Are you all okay?
I think we are. It's still kind of jarring, knowing we were just willed into existence by some higher being, but Tamaru's right- Trinket knew to make sure we had everything we needed, even if she couldn't give us memories. I can see why you trust her so much.

You sit there awkwardly, thinking to yourself how little actual thought you put behind your CREATE commands. Probably best not to correct them on that one.

She did say-
Oh, I don't feel indebted to her at all. In fact, I'd very much prefer it if things stopped barging in out of nowhere, but I've given up the hope that's going to stop anytime soon.

Orkahm chuckles, Echo nervously following suit.

So... All this existential stuff is great and all, but there's still a thing out there stealing our stuff.

Right. You almost forgot. It looks like Echo and the kobolds are pretty much done cleaning up. What now?

[seppawku]

ask the kobolds if they wanna work together ig?

[1011686]

Yeah we're willing to work together. We have a bird tracker if i recall, whoch should lead us to whoever came through our place, which was probably the same person as whoever came through theirs.

[knux400]

...So, would you be okay with working together? If I had to guess, whoever attacked you is probably the same person who stole Topaz, my bird.
Right, I heard about that when you were talking to Clemont.

Orkahm glances at the other three kobolds.

...I think it would be better if we stayed here for now. We've got some things to discuss. Like, y'know, the whole 'being created' thing.
But I thought...?
Listen, Echo. It takes a while to come to terms with stuff like this. We need to have a family chat about what this is going to mean going forwards. And, uh, no offense, but I think it would be better if you and Trinket weren't here for it.
If you find our things, though, feel free to stop by.
Yeah! You're cool! I like your outfit.

Tamaru simply gives a polite wave.

...Okay, then. I'll let you know if I find anything. Good luck!
Thanks. You too.
 

Echo exits the KOBOLD VILLAGE and checks the BIRD TRACKER. It's still pointing southeast.
 

[victorianflorist]

Go around that out cropping of rock and then continue following the tracker, you're a cat on a mission.

[1011686]

Dang shouldve asked the kobolds what the surrounding area was like, oh well. Continue down the south path. We might come across the base that other tcp came from.

[knux400]

Echo proceeds down the south corridor, where she almost immediately stops and flattens herself against a wall. She can hear Topaz chirping from around the corner, she says, but there's something else, too- a sort of clicky chittering that she can't quite recognize. It's not TCP speech, since neither of you can understand it.

The BIRD TRACKER seems to confirm Echo's observation- it's pointing in the same direction Echo is looking.

You may check Echo's status at any time using the /check command, as well as view her skills and items using /skills and /inventory respectively.

[victorianflorist]

/check Echo

[seppawku]

/check Echo!! and our inventory too ig..

[knux400]

You decide to CHECK Echo, telling her to hold position for a bit.
 

Echo is a BAT TYPE TCP. She is currently excited to finally see TOPAZ again, but nervous as to whatever is making that CHITTERING noise around the corner. Echo's health is currently at its maximum of GREAT. Echo's prosthetic arms are at 23% power and will need to be removed soon.

Typing in /inventory echo brings up a new menu, this one with text only.

Echo is currently wearing:
-STEALTH SUIT
-PROSTHETIC ARMS (23%)
-ANKLE HOLSTER
-ASSORTED PINS

Echo is currently carrying:
-BIRD TRACKER
-STUN GUN
-NET
-MULTITOOL

The chirping continues, as does the chittering. You don't speak bird, but the chirping sounds slightly distressed.
 

How should you proceed?

[victorianflorist]

Echo, equip the stun gun and stealth suit. Let's try and scope out the enemy. If they see you, stun 'em.

Once they're stunned, throw the net onto them and tie them up.

[1011686]

Yeah thats a good idea actually. The chittering isnt understandable, so i'd say its pretty probable that you won't be able to communicate to whatever is making that noise. Its unfortunate, but this is the most likely to be safe option we have (other than just going back of course. but i don't think we're doing that). If there's something unexpected around the corner though, like another TCP that you couldn't hear before, hold on stunning.

[Orange Juice Goose]

There is not much to do but equip that gear combination Vic mentioned. Then stealthily creep up, and figure out a course of action with new information.

[knux400]

Echo is already wearing the STEALTH SUIT, but she draws the stun gun from its holster.

She creeps around the corner, and you're able to see into the room ahead...

It looks almost like a hoard. You can see Topaz in his cage, but also a sizeable pile of gems and... a giant egg? The creature hasn't spotted Echo yet, and neither has Topaz. The creature looks like it's poking its hand through the bars of the cage reaching for Topaz, but Topaz is having none of it- he keeps moving away, much to the creature's frustration.

After a moment, Topaz pecks the creature's hand and it chitters angrily, recoiling back. These two really don't seem to like each other.

[1011686]

>Get close enough that you feel fairly certain you can hit it, and then shoot it with the stun gun. Also, >EXAMINE (or was it >INSPECT) the creature.

[Shifter55]

Okay, with only 23% charge remaining, you are going to have to do this fast. See if you can get behind the creature and run at it and give it a solid punch, make sure you position your wings so the force is like that of a sharp bank while flying, to minimise injury.
From there, see if you can open the cage, or failling that, grab it and flee.

[Orange Juice Goose]

Our view is a bit limiting, we see only a single not-topaz creature, please note & avoid taking action if you can sense anything else.

If that is the only strange creature, aim your taser directly at the foe, and tell them "Don't move! You've taken my pet." or whatever your wording for that is

[knux400]

Echo says there's just the one creature in the cave, and so you proceed with your original plan. You tell Echo to aim the stun gun at the creature and give it a chance to end things peacefully.

Don't move! That's my bird you're messing with!

The creature doesn't seem to understand Echo's words, instead responding with angry chittering. It makes a move towards Echo, but before it can get anywhere, she fires the stun gun...

...and misses. You're not sure if it was the creature moving too quickly, Echo's reluctance to fire the weapon, or the low power of her prosthetic arms, but in any case the shot sails right over the creature's shoulder and zaps harmlessly against the wall. Seeing this as an act of aggression, the creature charges towards Echo, screeching and hissing. You reach for the keyboard to tell Echo to do something else, but before you can even hit the first button, Echo leaps into the air and flies away from the creature. You get a brief glimpse of the previous room as she pulls a quick U-turn and flies straight into it again, punching it square in the face.
 

It starts to get up again, but Echo nails it with the stun gun before it can do anything. It lays on the ground, convulsing slightly. It seems unhurt (unhurt by the stun gun, that is, you're sure Echo's punch will leave a hell of a mark) but it won't be going anywhere for the next few minutes.

You EXAMINE the fallen creature, and are met with... this. It's not a pretty sight, to say the least, and there's no way that's a TCP.
 

All that's left in the area are Topaz, the pile of gems, and the large egg. What now?

[MarxzVulpez]

Wow, I guess they got a little bat-ered, she knocker-ed it right out of the park, and the consequences will probably echo around in their head for a bit
So let's first snag the Bird, then maybe throw the net over the thief? if not, let's at least see what else we're able to carry, also Check Echo and make sure the arms aren't wearing on her too bad (unless i'm mistaking what the 23% is for)

[Orange Juice Goose]

Bird can probably be released from the cage, which will result in less strain on the arms.
Maybe put the net on the Bunny just to be safe, but leave its belongings alone for now.

[knux400]

Echo throws the net atop the fallen creature. It's still laying there, twitching every so often- you've probably got a few minutes before it can move again.

You tell Echo to free Topaz and grab whatever else she can, and Echo does so. As she opens the cage, you realize Topaz has been in there since you spawned him, and being a canary, you have no idea how he'll react to suddenly being in a wide open space, and with how big these caves are, it would be nearly impossible to find him again if he were to fly away, and...
 

Echo breaks your train of thought, Topaz sitting calmly atop her shoulder. She's wearing the CONDUCTOR HAT the creature dropped (the same one you made for her earlier- it must've taken that from your base as well!) She says she can either take the PILE OF GEMS or the GIANT EGG- she'll have to come back for whichever one she doesn't take.

You take a moment to CHECK Echo.
 

Echo is a BAT TYPE TCP. She is relieved to have TOPAZ with her, but also curious as to the nature of the EGG. Echo's health is currently at its maximum of GREAT. Echo's prosthetic arms are at 16% power and will need to be removed soon.

You ask Echo how her arms are doing- she explains that they haven't started to make her feel tired yet. Once the internal battery drains, the arms are designed to run directly on the health of the TCP itself. Once that starts happening, the TCP will feel tired, and continued use after that will begin to drain health. The battery recharges on its own whenever it's not in use- how exactly that happens is beyond her, but if she takes the arms off, they should be ready to go again in about ten minutes.

She doesn't actually need the prosthetic arms to carry the egg or the gems- the main purpose of them is just to give her proper hands that can grip things- but she doesn't exactly have anywhere to put them, either. She says she'll be okay carrying something all the way back to the base if she heads straight there, with time to maybe drop the other item off somewhere close by first.

What should she do?

[1011686]

Take the egg back to the base first, maybe pop in to inform the kobolds about the creature on the way. Echo, can you see anything of interest to the south of you, or is it just more caves?

[victorianflorist]

Egg first

[knux400]

Echo picks up the GIANT EGG. It's surprisingly light- more awkward to hold than anything else. Needless to say, there's no way Echo can fly or do anything with her hands while she's carrying it. Topaz still sitting calmly on her shoulder, she stops by the KOBOLD VILLAGE, setting the egg down near the entrance. She gently knocks on the door.

...Hello?
 

After a moment, Orkahm arrives.

Oh! Hello, Echo.
Hi! I just wanted to tell you I found the thing that's been taking everyone's stuff, and I don't think it'll bother us anymore.
Oh, that's great! Did it have a bunch of gemstones with it, by any chance?

You put your face in one hand. You completely forgot in the heat of the moment- the gems belonged to the kobolds.

It did! There was a big pile of them. Trinket wanted me to bring this back to my base first, though.
Bring what b- is that a giant egg?
A GIANT EGG LET ME SEE

Taipu appears in the doorway, nearly shoving Orkahm aside.

Ohhhhhh that's so cool! Where did you get that?
Oh, uh, the creature had it.
*gasp* No wayyy! Is there, like, a baby creature in there?
Umm... I don't know?
Taipu, look at the size of that thing. There's no way it could've come out of the creature. It probably belonged to someone else.
Oh yeah.
So, anyway... The creature's still incapacitated if you guys want to go see it. It should stay that way for the next few minutes, plus it has a net over it.
How far away would you say its den is?
Not far. Just take a left from here, go straight for a bit, and then it's the first thing on your left.
Great. I'll probably be heading out, then. Thank you, Echo.
Oh, uh, no problem! I've just got to haul this thing back to my base, so-
...Can I come?

A small voice pipes up from the back of the room. You've only heard it once before, but you recognize it as Tamaru, the kobold who was hiding in his room when you first visited.

Uhh... Orkahm?
...How far is it?
Not much further than the creature's den is. It's in the other direction, though.
Is it safe?
I haven't had anything attack me other than the creature from earlier. And like I said, that won't be a problem for a while.
What do you want to do there, Tamaru?
...I just want to see. A place made by a being who can make anything might have some interesting things in it, right?

Orkahm sighs heavily.

...As long as it's okay with Echo and Trinket, you can go. Taipu, I'm guessing you want to join them as well?
No! I want to see the creature's den! And you'll probably need help hauling all those gems back, too.
I can't let you do that, Taipu. That thing might attack us again.
But Echo said it was safe!
 

The two of them continue their discussion as you think to yourself. Should you bring Tamaru along?

[1011686]

Yes.
I am now wondering if the egg might belong to that other TCP we met or their player/god. Not really sure what to do about that though.

[cosmo]

if they do come along we’ll need to tell echo to go on ahead once they near the base to tell the iron golem that tamaru is a friend!

[knux400]

You tell Echo it's okay for Tamaru to come along, and she relays the information to the kobolds.

...Which is why I just don't think it's safe for you to- hm?
Tamaru can come. It's okay with me.
Alright. Tamaru, listen to Echo and do what she says. She'll keep you from getting hurt.

Orkahm shoots Echo a stern look. Even through the pixelated display, you can tell that if something happens to Tamaru, you'll have hell to pay.

...I'll do my best!

Tamaru shuffles next to Echo, waiting for her lead. He still looks a little nervous, but he seems excited. As the two of them depart, you can still hear the conversation between Orkahm and Taipu.

But Tamaru got to go somewhere and you're not even going to be with him! And he's a lot less tough than me and we don't even know Echo that well and-
Alright, alright. But you stay with me at all times.
Yayyy!! Let me go grab my backpack!

You can just barely hear Orkahm sigh heavily before you get too far. It seems like your hearing extends about a room and a half from your current screen, depending on whatever obstacles are in the way.
 

Tamaru walks quietly beside Echo, taking everything in. After a while, he decides to talk to Echo.

So the canary on your shoulder is...
Topaz. One of my friends. He's the one that got taken by the mean thing from before.
Oh! Is he nice?
He should be. Just try not to scare him.

The two of them stop walking for a moment as Tamaru slowly extends a finger towards Topaz. Topaz seems apprehensive at first, but sensing Echo's calmness, decides to give Tamaru an investigative peck. Tamaru chuckles quietly- more of a forceful exhale than anything else, really, but you're pretty sure he was laughing given the smile on his face.
 

After some more walking, the two of them reach the tracks. Tamaru seems mystified by the train tracks, and asks politely if he can stop and take a closer look at them. Echo hesitates, awaiting your decision.

[1011686]

Compromise, keep moving, but at a slower pace, so he can inspect it on the way.
Also, I want to ask, does Tamaru notice anything unusual about his hearing?

[Dzib 9001]

slow down so they can take a look and answer any questions they have about the tracks. might as well be nice to your neighbors right?

[knux400]

I don't think it would be a good idea to stop, but we can slow down a bit so you can look.
Okay!
There's also a set of tracks running right through the middle of the base, you can take a closer look at those once we get there.

By the way, Trinket wants to know if you're noticing anything different with your hearing?
...I hear more things, I think? I'm not sure, it might just be my imagination.

The two of them continue walking in silence, Tamaru fixated on the train tracks. He occasionally leans his head to one side, examining the tracks from every angle, but is very careful not to touch them or get too close.

...What are these?
They're train tracks.
Train... Tracks?
Yup! They're a set of rails that trains can drive on.
Um... What's a train?
It's a sort of thing that you sit in and it goes forward by itself. It's really good for carrying things or moving quickly.
It moves by itself?
Well...
 

The two of them continue like this all the way back to the base. You decide to tune it out for now, but you could always look at what they said later in the chat log.
 

Just outside the base, you run into another familiar face. Clemont looks excited to see Echo at first, but quickly regains his composure.

Oh! Um... Hello again!

[1011686]

Introduce Clemont and Tamaru