buttrinthum | TDM #9

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TDM #9

Arrival / Enchanted Garden

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:

“Welcome to my LABYRINTH where your wish, you wish you wish youwishyouwish– Your CONTRACT is SEALED.”

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?

Liminal Spaces and Worn Out Faces

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.

Up is Down, In is Out

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.

Dream Within a Dream Within a Dream Within a Dream Within

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.

OOC

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She's in an expanding field, and she can tell they aren't quite in Somnius anymore. There's something too tranquil about this place, it reminded her of driving past some of the more remote parts of Connecticut, but even that wasn't quite right.

This felt different, richer somehow. The air was crisp, the day felt limitless, and when she looked over at who had joined her, she couldn't help but smile].

Is this...Llyr?

[Eilonwy nodded and gestured back with one of her hands] Yes! One of the fields, I would come out and rest after lessons or before dinner! [She laughed and spun a little and noticed how right it felt to be on the ground. The usual confusion that came with the topography of Somnius wasn't there.] Wait, how did you get here, Luz?

It's beautiful!

[Luz didn't get many chances to actually just be out in the countryside if it wasn't Somnius, so to finally get to see some of the world that Eilonwy was talking about was pretty amazing. It felt so pleasant outside, Luz forget that she had to be cautious. It was one of those that felt like it could go on forever].

Oh, I'm pretty sure I probably wandered into your dream. That seems to happen now that Vareos is taking his nap.

Isn't it? [Eilonwy let her hands trail in the flowers idly and listened as Luz explained things. She tilted her head in confusion.] That means all of our work paid off, but I don't remember going to sleep?

[She looked back to the flowers and reached out. They felt real. The weather also felt real. If Luz hadn't mentioned that she'd wandered into Eilonwy's dream, then Eilonwy would swear she'd simply been sent back to Llyr for a visit.] But since you're here, we should explore!

[Luz lay on her back a moment, taking a long breath].

Sure, but I guess we shouldn't think that things are going to be normal. Vaeros being asleep is going to effect this place somehow, right?

[For right now, Luz wasn't going to complain. With all the craziness of the woods melting goo, animals fighting them, dragons and then storming the castle? Being happy in Eilonwy's memories was like a vacation].

Oh? You have any place in mind?

That's true.. Hopefully it's something we can all handle.

[Putting Vaeros to sleep for a while had been the right choice, but Eilonwy did wonder how things were going to play out. But for the time being she was just glad to be somewhere familiar with a friend. She laid next to Luz and watched the clouds idly.]

Hm.. It's spring, there are strawberries in season! We could visit the town market and see what it's like here.

[It might not be exactly the same, but it would be fun. Eilonwy sat up and offered one of her hands.]

We'll do what we can. We're strong: whatever we fail at, we'll learn from.

[That would be a harder concept to think on when she talks to Sky later, but for now she meant every word she said.

For right now? She thought they earned a little respite].

The strawberries are in season? So why don't we go pick some?

Or are those only growing in private farms?

[She nodded.] Those are very wise sayings.

[Eilonwy shook her head] Oh no, they're mostly wild. There are private farmers but honestly you could probably carpet half of a road with berries, they grow so easily.

[She climbed to her feet and fell into step next to Luz as they started walking. The birdsong and general nature sounds complimented things and sure enough they would soon find themselves in a strawberry field. Small dots of red stood out amongst the plants and there were even two baskets lined with cloth off to the side.]

It's just something I picked up from making so many mistakes! Better if we don't make them here, right?

[Luz did looked psyched by this]. Yay! Then we can totally do it!

[It was a shame that Stringbean couldn't join them. She would have loved the feeling she got from her companion: Luz was pretty charmed by this whole place. Seeing the strawberries, Luz clapped her hands a little here, grinning].

I should be annoyed that this is a lot like working on the farm, but it feels different. I don't think I'm used to the air being this crisp, or so many pretty colors in the sky.

That's true!

[Eilonwy handed one of the baskets to Luz and took the other for herself.] Llyr usually has a very nice spring and a very warm summer-- but the air is usually nice and you can see a lot of colors overhead depending on when you look.

[Eilonwy began to idly pick some strawberries, and looked over a few before putting them into her basket. She thought about it for a moment and then offered,] Perhaps because you're choosing to do this, instead of it being a part of your work?

[Luz gratefully took the basket, half wishing she had on more casual clothes on. Heck, she was sure she wouldn't have even minded going barefoot right now. It all looked nice enough to be something right out of a fantasy book].

It's really pretty!

[Luz started picking some strawberries of her own, taking a bite or two every once and a while].

That's a good point. Doing farmwork is still work no matter how you look at it. This feel more like we're choosing to do something for fun.

[Eilonwy kept picking berries, also having a few as she worked. They were ripe but not overly sweet like they might have been if they were cooked with honey for a dessert.] Exactly, like reading for enjoyment instead of to memorize.

It is really pretty-- it'd be nice if I could take some of these back with me, honestly. Maybe I can see about growing some when things calm back down. Besides strawberries, what fruits do you like, Luz? Any favorites?

[Other than working at the farm, Luz tended to only so things like these when she happened to spy some crops she could use for later, and that didn't happen all that often. It certainly didn't happen enough where she had time to spare just to talk].

I'd like that too, but I guess we can't have everything. It still feels like kind of a perfect climate day though.

Oh, I like a few! Mangos, limes, grapes...you know they have grapes that taste faintly like cotton candy?

The weather is nice, isn't it? It's very fitting-- we're ahead of the rain season, I think, since it isn't June.

[In contrast, Eilonwy would try to make room for time to talk while helping with work. But that didn't always happen, especially during busier times.]

I've heard of some of those fruits! But.. No, I'm afraid I don't know what cotton candy is. But I've had fruits with sugar and honey.

It is! It's kind of a perfect spring day. Light breeze, not too much sun. It's perfect napping weather!

[Not that she wanted to do that anytime soon, quite the opposite! She was actually having a great time, and Eilonwy had the right idea about talking while doing work: it actually made her enjoy things even more]!

Oh, right. You probably wouldn't have heard about it unless you had the ability to make it and...its honestly way more involved than I thought. There's a machine and everything. Better to have things simpler, with actual fresh ingredients.

[Luz had learned working on the farm that she vastly preferred fresh things to the stuff she brought at the supermarket].

Which is funny, if this is a dream.

[What would happen if she fell asleep in a dream? Eilonwy wasn't curious enough to find out and like Luz she was enjoying everything].

Does it actually look like cotton? But I agree, if I have a choice I prefer fruit for dessert.

[More strawberries were picked and a few were eaten with a chuckle].

I think maybe it's because it's your dream, to go back and see your world again. It just happened to also be the perfect day.

[Luz would like to think that they would be caught in a weird waking sleep pocket dimension, but that's the book nerd in her. She'd like to think they would still be all right].

Actually yes, and at first, when you put it in your mouth, it feels like a wad of cotton. But its actually very light candy, and once you keep it in your mouth it melts and you taste its flavor!

Tastes best on a nice day, freshly picked and everything! Too bad we don't live out in the farming fields back home.

Maybe some of the others will show up, that would be a surprise!

[But that doesn't happen, unfortunately.

As Luz describes cotton candy, Eilonwy makes room in her basket for some more strawberries.] Oh! That must be very confusing at first but it also sounds fun. Most of the sweets in Llyr don't change into different types as you eat them.

Are the fields very far from where you live? Or are they close enough that you can visit them when you'd like to?

It is your dream, so who knows?

[Luz laughed]. It is a weird thing to describe to someone since most things don't immediately melt in your mouth when you eat them! It usually takes a little bit! It's really good though!

I live in a city, so no, not especially. If we lived in a more rural place, it would be easier to get a hold of, though even then, modern conveniences tends to be more important to people. It's sadly why we tend to eat more junk food.

It does sound good!

[Eilonwy looked at her basket and nodded] I think this is more than enough. [She picked a few more and worked on eating them as she listened.] No, it's the same here, honestly. Not so much with eating different foods, but more around using horses or carts to travel instead of walking.

[But some of that just made logical sense- it was faster to use alternative means of getting somewhere. Eilonwy couldn't just walk the entire distance of Llyr the same way she'd enjoy a stroll in the forest.] What kinds of other foods do you eat instead?

It is, trust me!

I tend to do both. I know someone here who has a car, obviously people here can use horse drawn buggies, and I fly with Stringbean. With that, it's a matter of convenience, though I still think you need to walk a lot, or you'd get lazy.

With food, well, if you're on a budget, you go for what is more cost effective and that doesn't necessarily mean cheap.

Oh, I can eat a LOT of things, though I tend to avoid foods that need heavy cream or something with a lot of dairy. I do tend to like things with a lot of spices though.

I do!

I think your legs would get weakened, at least. [Eilonwy looked at the field and had a final handful of strawberries.]

I remember you mentioned that before. Do you have any favorite spices? Saffron and ginger are both popular right now, I think. [Since this was a dream, there was a weird sense of time itself.]

I think so too. That's why I like to find ways to walk when I can. Besides, I can't have Stringbean being a staff all the time, or she'd never be able to move around freely!

[Stringbean seemed to agree to this, hiss softly and nuzzle her companion].

Cilantro and garlic. They make me think of home, when my mom's cooking would fill the whole house.

[Luz couldn't help looking a little sad here, because thinking about her mom sure had a way of just hitting a nerve she couldn't quell. How could she?

She missed her every day].

[Eilonwy smiled at Stringbean's reaction and fell quiet when Luz mentioned her mom. After a moment to just share the silence, Eilonwy remarked softly-] That sounds like a nice memory.

Honestly, it is. Even if it makes me a little sad. But I'm sure if we're not all adults with our own lives, we miss the people who looked after us, right?

[Luz was careful not specifically name parents, as by now she understood family were the people who took care of you without any obligation. For Luz, that was her mom, Eda, King, V...a lot of assorted people she got to know and love in the Isles. It was always hard to think about how she wouldn't see them anymore, not unless Vaeros heard their wishes too].

TDM #9

4- Dream Walking

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(start to wrap in the next few comments?)

Surely!

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