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buttrinthum2024-04-30 10:34 pm
TDM #9
Whether it be sleep or death, you feel your eyes close, and as your body begins to let go, you see a barn owl that is flying through the darkness, soon sweeping you across the clouded sky. You feel yourself mouth the words, “I wish, I wish..” and utter your deepest and darkest desire.
When you regain consciousness, you’ll find you are in an unfamiliar place with no recognition of how you arrived here. You have the clothes on your back, but nothing else. No weapons and if you had a particular superpower, you’ll notice it is missing. All you have is a satchel with a piece of bread, a vial of water, and a potion. The potion could be red, blue or golden. There are no instructions about these potions other than two words: Drink Me.
Will you drink it or not?
There is a parchment, handwritten in scrawling, jagged lettering that seems a bit... ominous:
You’re in a garden, surrounded by flowers and plants– most of which you cannot identify. However, there are a few that you can make out: Larkspur and Anemone You’ll soon find out that being around the Larkspur makes you almost overwhelmingly tired, to the point you might even feel sluggish and in desperate need of a comfy place to rest. Why not lie down right in the garden? Or better yet, find someone to snuggle up with and sleep your worries away. The only truly strange part? You don’t seem to dream. At all. Straying too close to the Anemones, meanwhile, grants an entirely different effect. One second you’ll be walking through the garden and then suddenly you’re twenty feet away and facing the wrong direction. Even worse, whatever those flowers have done to you will sometimes make it so you “glitch” through solid objects – your leg might suddenly be lodged in the ground despite it being perfectly solid a moment before, or your arm could be shoved halfway into a wall that… actually, was that wall even there before? Nevermind that. The effects only last for a few minutes at worst, so at least you’re not stuck there forever, right?
Thanks to the combined efforts of dreamers and dragons, Vaeros is asleep. No one knows for how long. The locals aren’t particularly pleased with this turn of events and the village is a mess, but at least the moon is high in the sky again and everything is back to normal… relatively speaking. Things start to change... morph into something more dreamy, more surreal. It's subtle at first but after a few days…
The aftermath of the overgrowth, animal attacks, and the overall chaos of Vaeros' tantrum has left the village a little worse for wear. While most of the damages are cosmetic and could be fixed by the local's efforts alone, maybe a little help would be appreciated? If nothing else, it might help alleviate a little bit of the tension still lingering in the air after the events at the castle.
That, and the locals seem to be acting kind of strange. Leaving them to their own devices might not be the best idea. The Gelfling you are aiding in repairing a half-broken wall has been hammering for what seems like hours and when you look to see what they're doing, they haven't actually made any progress - they're just hitting the same spot over and over again, potentially making the hole even bigger. Did the goblin you just passed have a completely blank face for a moment? Others might walk into things, off of things (Starlight Cliff might be a hazard zone), or suddenly and inexplicably become aggressive toward dreamers, grabbing anything they can get their hands on (kitchenware, vegetables, a goose??) to use as a weapon. It's a very bizarre scene and the villagers don't seem to notice there is anything wrong with the people around them.
It’s not just the locals either. The animals have been acting equally strange. There's a wolf inside the clothing shop trying on suits, a goat standing (or trying to stand) on its hind legs, bleating out random words like a town crier while jingling a bell around its neck to get everyone's attention. Where you should find the local baker, suddenly they're replaced with a deer holding a paddle in its mouth to stir up a batch of brownies.
To top it all off, there's an eerie sense of deja vu no matter where you go or what you do. Didn't you just help that goblin with the wheelbarrow an hour ago? So why is it halfway across town again? You could have sworn you had to go and grab groceries, but your pantry is full like someone already had.
Days pass and the oddities continue to make themselves more and more apparent. The sidewalks seem uneven and wobbly at times, threatening to toss people walking across them to the ground or even fling them into the air with a sudden violent ripple. Walking through the forest sees the leaves of the trees melting into green goo that sticks to your clothes, your hair, and your skin - potentially staining them green and leaving you in dire need of a bath. You can always wash off in the lake, of course, but even that is not free of the strangeness occurring in Visium. The water of Lake Omen has turned to lava, at least in color; although there is no heat radiating from it when one approaches. That, and the locals are still fishing in it without issue, save the fact that they keep pulling up fish with tophats on.
Speaking of fish - they're raining from the sky now (tophats or not) in all sorts of different colors, shapes, and sizes. Good news! They're still edible. Bad news, they're probably trying to sell you something.
If you do decide to try the fish or any other meal in town, especially those served by the locals, you'll find that it doesn't taste like much of anything and most certainly doesn't fill you up, at least not at first. Everything is bland and unappealing until left in the presence of dreamers - and the more you share the meal with, the faster the taste returns.
Even with Vaeros asleep, only a small portion of the labyrinth is still accessible. Those that attempt to explore will find sections made up of pillows and cushions, and no matter what time of day it is elsewhere, this portion of the labyrinth seems to be stuck in perpetual twilight. Explorers will also immediately feel drowsy, then lulled to sleep by the quiet singing whispered through the air like a lullaby. Anyone brave enough to try and rescue those poor souls from their impromptu naps would be wise to plug their noses and cover their ears with earmuffs to block out the sound.
At night, dreamers dream. They will be visited by the same melody heard in the labyrinth, though it is distant. They will also hear a woman telling them to spend more time together, to bond and create things together in order to soothe the effects of Vaeros' magic growing wild in his dreams. Dreamers will also have the ability to visit other's dreams, meeting in a dreamy light liminal space that will not feel so real when they awaken.
Welcome to the labyrinthum TDM! Characters will arrive depowered and with only their clothing, and will be given a satchel with a crystal pendant, a communication device, some water and bread and a magic potion. If they drink the potion, they will manifest an elemental, healing or animal transformation ability.
With the exception of Castle Vaeros, characters are free to go as they please, so feel free to place them in any of the locations available on the map. Yes, this includes the Labyrinth - though characters will not be able to clear the maze.
You can find more information about the game here. Any questions regarding the TDM can go under the comment below.
3- Dream within a dream
[Puck has dream walked before, actually, and it's part of his powers as a fae. But this specific version is different-- normally Puck has to wait until he goes lucid, and even then there's extra work around making sure a dream doesn't collapse. This is no different than going for a walk in real life. He steps into Maruki's dream and blinks as he looks around an office. A doctor? Puck quickly scans the bookcase and just gets nothing to work with as the letters turn into scribbling, then shift and move at random. No clues there, then.]
Appointment? I didn't know I had one.
[Maruki looks like the top example for overworked, but Puck's not going to be rude. He's overworked himself a few times, it's the nature of any kind of job. He walks to one of the sofas and takes a seat, eying the table of snacks and drinks.]
But.. since I'm here, I suppose it would be rude to just leave. Who are you?
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[ And also if he tries to read the usual roster of the day's students on his clipboard, it slides right off his brain. Annoying!
He abandons the useless clipboard – means to set it on the desk, but in the dreamlike haze he's not quite sure where it goes – and settles on the opposite sofa. Relaxed posture, hands folded calmly in his lap. ]
My name is Doctor Maruki. I'm a counselor here.
[ Wherever the hell here is, because it sure isn't Shujin! ]
Help yourself to the snacks, I definitely don't need all of them. Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself? Ah, and– cool cosplay, I might add!
[ He gestures toward his own ears to clarify, because it would definitely be rude to point. Congratulations Puck!! You're the first non-human he's met. ]
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[For real, this isn't striking any familiar chords for Puck either. But it seems to be fine to just not think about it too much. Wherever here is, Maruki seems nice enough and Puck isn't too concerned. He blinks at the cosplay comment but when Maruki explains via gesture, he laughs. Oh this will be fun.] Cosplay? No, these aren't fake. I'm a fae-- in service to the king and queen of fairies. We're also known as dark elves, but more commonly as the children of Oberon.
[Puck even brushes back some of his hair and reaches up to show off his ears. There's no seam where a prosthetic top might normally be on a human wearing fake ears.]
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[ His eyes go wide behind his glasses, and he leans forward to get a somewhat closer look. ]
Oh, wow, they are real. How strange. Ah, not that I'm calling you strange! Sorry! This is just… rather unexpected.
[ He straightens back up, self-conscious of any possible offense by staring or tripping over his words. Dream logic has a way of smoothing over what would be much more difficult to accept in reality: Fairies are real? Yeah, okay, guess fairies are real. Stranger things have indeed happened. ]
In service to a king and queen, huh? That's a new one for me. Can I ask what that entails?
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[Really with as old as he is, Puck has made peace with the fact that some humans have just never met anything supernatural. Maruki's pleasant enough, there was no intended offense. He sits back, opens the pack of cookies and has one before answering.]
A glorified performer, here to do shows, recite poems, and draw crowds. When I'm not doing that, I'm finding more things to perform, or staying out of their way. [Puck gives a surprised "hm!" as the cookie is surprisingly good. Not bland at all like some of the food he'd had earlier in the day.]
There are also court politics but I've never been a fan of them.
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Maruki listens to him with rapt interest, clearly someone from a world so different from his own. ]
Ah, that kind of service! [ Like a jester, he doesn't say, because that would be rude. ] I'll admit that the political side was my first thought as well, but I can see why you'd want to avoid that.
And your king and queen, are they... here?
[ Here, again, being vague and still mostly unknown to him. But maybe Puck has a better idea and can help him out. ]
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You can say jester, it's very close to it. Just a bit more work involved besides just comedic timing. [He doesn't even sound mad, but he shakes his head at Maruki's question.] No, they're.. [The juice is opened and a small sip is had. It's cranberry blended with apple. Not bad at all, really.] The last I heard, they're still in Avalon. Probably still arguing with each other. A councilor's office would be the last place I'd expect either of them. [Another drink.]
If they were in Visium- the world holding the city Somnius, where all of us are brought after making a wish, it would be horrible. For everyone else, not for Oberon and Titania.
[It would be chaos. Neither do well at being given directions, much less being told they've entered into a contract.]
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An arguing king and queen might be a fun challenge for me, actually! But I can see why having them here might cause trouble. There's… someone in charge, correct? [ He is osmosing as much lore as he can, as quickly as he can, via dream counselees. It's fun! ] I can't imagine that person would take kindly to other monarchs.
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[Puck laughs at Maruki's last comment] If everyone was lucky, there would only be a heated argument. [But Oberon doesn't deal in luck, just like he doesn't compromise. Puck sighs and looks down for a moment as he shakes his head.] If that happened, I'd know it wasn't Oberon or Titania immediately.
puck-kun is so stupid it made me cackle i'm sorry about him
[ Dream logic supplies him with his clipboard again, but it also robs him of the ability to jot that down when he tries. Maruki's brows furrow at the inability to write anything on the page. He wants to be able to remember this, he wants to figure this place out–
No matter. He sighs, tucks the pen back into his coat pocket and refocuses on Puck. ]
You seem wonderfully knowledgeable about the way this world works, Puck-kun. It's interesting that the ruler is a fairy unfamiliar to you... although I'm sure that's also a bit frustrating for you. What else do you know about him?
lmao you're good
[Puck watches as Maruki tries to write, but dream logic just brushes it aside. Maybe the pen's out of ink, who knows? Not him.]
Besides that he's rarely heard from, he seems to follow fairy logic as much as I do. A few months ago he held a party at his castle, but that was designed to use magic on everyone to get them to forget about their home worlds, and to get them to love him. [Puck sets the can of juice down just long enough to fold his arms and look put out at the memory.]
It was also an insult, because he never showed himself during it. He uses magic to change Somnius whenever he wants, but that seems to be in an off and on pattern. [The juice is picked back up and a drink is had.]
My theory is that changing the world uses a lot of his powers, so he needs the next month to recover. Oh, that's something else-- almost everyone here is from a different world. I'm from Avalon, but [A shrug.] Not many know of it outside of it being mentioned in human plays.
sdhfldksj i love that.... he's such a boku lad :'))
Maruki actually leans forward a bit while Puck goes on, doing his very best to will himself to retain this information when he wakes up. He listens with rapt interest, fingers coming up to drum against his chin. ]
That's– well, if I'm honest, all of that is totally bizarre! A ruler with the power to consistently change reality as he sees fit. I can't imagine how exhausting that must be after a while.
[ Start imagining, bud, you're about to live it.
The concept of people being pulled from multiple worlds is intriguing, of course it is, but something else Puck said catches and snags in his mind far more. ]
I'm sorry, I'm sure it's old news by now, but when you say that he tried to make everyone forget their home worlds… Clearly you remember yours, so you were unharmed, but did he succeed in altering anyone else's– memories?
[ The tiniest hiccup of hesitation as he stops himself from using his own psychobabble parlance. But it does sound more and more like cognitive psience plays a larger role here than he could have anticipated. ]
he is i was amused!
[Really it's nothing super new, Oberon can change Avalon with his force of will, he just choses not to because he knows what he likes. Puck shakes his head.] No, the spell was temporary. It's just that everyone broke free of it in their own time, instead of everyone snapping out of it all at once. One of my friends was very confused for a bit, another gave a different name and I needed to guide her to safety.
[He sighs, looks at the snacks again, and then just takes another pack of the limited edition cookies.] It was bizarre, as you said.
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[ HMMMMMMMMM INTERESTING. VERY VERY INTERESTING.
Maruki looks lost in thought for a long moment, eyes distant past Puck and brow furrowed, before he remembers he's technically supposed to be in the middle of a counseling session and startles. ]
Oh, sorry! Sometimes I space out... it's better than rambling on, but it's still not very polite!
[ Straighten up, take a breath. Tap pen against clipboard. Smile genuinely, mean it genuinely. ]
You've given me a lot to think about, Puck-kun. Thank you for sharing that with me. I hope something like that doesn't happen again, but I'm also wary of what else could occur that would be worse. But you seem very helpful in a crisis. If it's alright, could I reach out to you again outside of these dreams?
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[INDEED. Especially since Puck himself knows memory magic, but he doesn't bring that up and watches as Maruki just zones out for a second. He offers an assuring smile when he comes back to things.] No, that's fine! I've spaced out before, it happens.
[Puck is an actor but he doesn't know Maruki enough to judge if he's being sincere, so he takes it at face value but has made a mental note about his zoning out specifically after Puck mentioned the situation that had happened.] You're welcome, and I think I am, it comes with being in a court. I can't just get by with my sunny disposition. [He nods at the question] Sure, if you'd like. I can't promise snacks exactly like what you've offered but I'll set a nice enough table.
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Don't worry about it, seriously. The snacks are a force of habit. I don't require food or any other sort of repayment! It'll be enough to get to know someone so reliable.
[ He hesitates for a moment before tacking on, almost as an afterthought, because he is wary of coming across as desperate the way he did when he started at Shujin: ]
And if you think you'd like to explore counseling, I do intend to begin formally offering my services once I'm settled in. It's completely up to you, but my office will always be open to you.
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[Puck's eyes light up in amusement. Oberon would have something to say about that specific compliment but Oberon's not here so it doesn't really matter in the bigger scheme of things. He blinks at the sudden offer and gives a shrug.]
Perhaps? I can't think of what we would talk about, and I'm not usually one to keep consistent hours. But.. [Another shrug.] Perhaps. For now, I'll be heading on. Good.. [Wow what is time even doing? It's been sunset for what feels like an eternity. That throws Puck a little but he goes with it. It's probably nothing important.] Good evening, Doctor.