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.

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Loki was greatly confused, as none of this looked familiar. Something caught his attention though and he looked up--and up. Some type of giant skeleton that was animated, wonderful. That moss that was spreading over him didn't seem like a good thing either.

Further confused, he watched the moss approach a...girl? Was that Luz? and stop. With her battle cry though, Loki recognized that voice and it came to him in a second. Ah, he was in another dream. Likely Luz's, from what he'd observed so far. Figuring more out could wait--he suspected that even in a dream, Luz would need help with this battle.

So Loki is running, his clothing shifting as he does to his usual (old) armor. It's a dream, but that also means it should be easier to use one of his new skills right? A few more steps, before his hands glowed green and he kicked off the ground. Pulling magic to himself, ready to deflect or use as a blast as he headed after Luz.

Loki should be plenty confused. One minute he was just walking along, and the next he found himself knee deep in the final fight Luz ever had, only she's determined it won't end as she remembered. With the new information from Amity about the power of the titan, she was wondering if her fate didn't just end when she was corrupted.

So Luz, in her mind, was exploring what her imbued with Titan magic would have looked like. She knew she was taking a chance with what the design was, but it was good to imagine herself winning that fight.

Looks like in her dreams she would get that chance.

It was shocking to see Loki here, but Luz wouldn't be put off-if anything, she looked excited.

"How did you get here?!"

Luz was already powering up what was to be a fierce light attack, aimed specifically for Bellos' eyes.

"Worry about that later. Just tell me what's going on. Briefly." He had gotten the main idea, but some specifics would still be nice. Especially since that weird moss had formed into a giant vine and was heading for them.

Loki had other ideas though. He brought both hands forward, magic glowing green as he through bolts of it. Following that up with a gesture and calling up ice to keep any that hadn't been destroyed from moving further.

"Ok. THAT is Belos, who's somehow managed to merge with the titan, who's bones make up the Boiling Isles. Basically, fighting him is my last stand, only I'm going to make sure that it isn't."

Not again.

"Stay clear of the moss though. It will corrupt and kill you, trust me."

Luz is following up Loki's attack with the whirlwind spell, so now blistering ice winds are being hurtled at Belos, making sure it was hard for him to see.

"Vulnerabilities?" Loki called, but he's moving to dodge and get in close if he can. Even risking that moss just barely missing him. Between one blink and the next, there are dozens of illusory copies of Luz and Loki floating around the air, running along limbs. Distractions and mis-directing Belos' attention if possible.

"Not sure!" Luz called. "I was, uh, interrupted before I could find out. If it were me though? I think I'd be trying to get to the root of him."

Which was hard already since he was sending fire their way, which Luz managed to avoid.

"Maybe a distraction. A big one."

Loki dodged by vanishing as the flames would've hit him, and re-appearing not far away but out of the fire's way. "Ideas?" Because Loki had a few but didn't know Belos nearly as well as Luz did.

He could start though--besides calling on those illusion copies of him and Luz. Making a small patch of the moss-ground ice covered, he moved to stand on that. Hands glow-green, along with his eyes, Loki called up an illusion of of a Frost Beast. Supplementing it with his ice-magic to make it a viable threat and distraction.

Luz was doing her best to fight, but he was just too big! More annoying, how did he even get to be the titan anyway? If he could do that to start, why didn't he just choose that option instead of the whole Day of Unity thing?

Because this isn't something he knew about. He must have just realized he could do it. But where would he have...

THE BEATING HEART.

"The throne room. Of course! The answer was always there, he just didn't know it until now! He infested the titan through the heart! Which means-"

Luz looked at the approaching beast that Loki conjured up, and was staring in half awe before reminding herself she had an idea.

"Loki! Distract him! I'm going to go farther down, and I need cover!"

Loki didn't bother to answer, but instead smirked. He seemed to be having at least some affect, so he just took a quick breath in and out. Then conjured up an illusion (augmented with ice) of another Frost Beast. Then another, as he moved to see just how much he could do with all of this before he hit his limit.

Luz was already headed downward to try and take on Belos's hold on the heart itself. She knew by now that the heart was where a witch truly had the capacity to perform their magic, so as long as she was able to get rid of Belos there...

And as she entered the throne room she could see that his corruption was all around the room, getting stronger. She let out a low whistle, because now she saw that she didn't just need a distraction: she also needed help.

Loki! Can you hear me?

The sudden voice in his head only raised a mild alarm--normally it would be far more of one. Dreams could be like that, and there was a hint of resistance on Loki's part too. It faded quickly though, and he replied. On my way. Can you send up a flare in about 5 seconds?

Loki kept up his illusions, but stopped augmenting them with ice-magic. The illusions would remain, and Loki prepared to kick off from his ice patch. Except it was dream-logic, and as he did it turned into a jump where he landed next to Luz in the heart-room.

Internally, that gave Loki pause--wait, this wasn't real. It couldn't be real.

Luz hadn't taken a moment to do anything but immediately throw the thought to Loki. Sure, part of her knew she was fabricating what Belos would have done, but as far as she was concerned, this was exactly what would happen. Belos wouldn't allow Luz or anyone to get this close to stopping him, and even with these "new" powers, she was going to need the help.

Hearing Loki, Luz let up a particularly potent light glyph, and the response was blinding, enough so that it kept that part of Belos busy so that now they were both in the-heart-room

the heart room.

It was, of course, being protected with Belos's corruptive ivy tendrils.

"Don't let those touch you. Somehow, we've got to get to the heart and strike at it."

It was fortunate Loki hadn't been blinded too--but perhaps that was simply how part of the dream worked. Loki remained on guard, but took a second to look around. Nodding with the warning. "Do we have to worry about intruders here?" As he was already pondering things.

"He's got his corruption! Just keep attacking when they come around, he's trying to protect himself!"

Luz understood the way that Philip Wittibane worked. He never let known how far he was at winning, how easily he might lose if his composure was compromised. He was counting on you to know less, to be overwhelmed by your own odds, to think you would lose.

And there he would win another day, because you didn't know what HE knew.

But Luz wasn't about to let even her impression of Belos win the day. She was taking advantage of her titan power and going with what made sense, which was her pushing the magic as far as it could go, all to get close to the entity that had adhered itself to the Titan's heart.

"I'm going to attack him straight on! You take care of everything he'll be throwing at us!"

Loki smirked slightly, as his eyes started to glow. "Let me clear the way for you as well then." Gesturing out with his hands, the vines started to drop--pulled down by their shadows. Hands glowing green, Loki had ice come to cover them, and form walls, making a corridor and path of safety for Luz. As the vines moved to twine more around the heart to protect it, Loki shifted his attention slightly. Hands moving now, still glowing green with all the magic he was using between the shadows and ice, to act as if he were grasping the vines. To start pulling them away, and open, via telekinesis to give Luz a clear path.

If she'd need it, he was ready also to throw up duplicate illusion copies to keep things confusing.

It was a shame: Luz would never know how much this fight resembled what would actually happen with Belos. The real fight between he and Luz involved Luz getting to the heart of the titan, the only way that Belos would have as much control as he did. When she became imbued with the titan's power, she faced down Belos here, to forcibly remove the man from the heart.

And now she would do it again.

There were differences, of course. No Eda and King and Raine here, just Loki, but he was enough. Luz had always thought he was powerful and now she got to see some of that again. With his intervention, Luz was now tearing upward to take Belos and remove him from the heart. His attempts to try and tear down Luz before she got there were being foiled with Loki's magic, and so now Luz was now leaping to meet him.

"You can't defeat me, Luz!"

"Do NOT underestimate me, Belos! For I am the good witch Luz, child of the human realm, student of the demon realm, and warrior of peace!"

Luz pulled at the magic she felt flowing within, locking and strengthening her resolve, giving her the energy she needed to grasp him fully and rip him out, with all her might.

"NOW EAT THIS SUCKA!"

What else would she have said? He was everything she wasn't, and he was cancerous to the Boiling isles, period. So she'd attack him with everything in her, even if it still might not be enough.

It would be enough; Loki would see to that. In the real world he prepared Luz as well, as best he knew how by teaching her and helping her. In the dream? There was no question she'd succeed. Not when he focused so much on clearing her way and ensuring it stayed clear. Ice, shadow-magic, general magic and illusions, along with his telekinesis--all brought to bear against their foe.

Not that Luz needed it, but she would also feel his magic wrapping around her. A faint sheen of emerald green, supporting and fueling her. Taking that burden so she could focus all she had on her goal.

It took everything that Luz had to rip him out: Luz had to imagine she had the strength to do it all by herself, whereas back where she first became a titan, she had the spells strengthening her. So it was a combination of her piecing together the spells she did know and strengthening them in the dream and using them to help her strike out against Belos.

And when she felt Loki's magic, the boost was enough to let her make up her mind. She drew back and hurling Belos off the heart of the Titan, hearing him scream as he fell down the bottomless pit around the castle.

Luz leaned back, and the world seemed to flicker a moment.

When the world flickered, Loki exerted his influence to anchor the dream. Just enough control to stabilize it, as he moved to Luz's side. Reaching out to support her if she needed it. Dream it may be, but this was still significant and she needed this moment and this victory.

"Deep breaths, rest. You're safe. You did it."

Luz wouldn't have said it aloud because of how she was sure it would come across, but she did need the assurance. This whole thing played out in a way she was hoping for, and she was glad that she didn't just die this time.

"Thanks. I will. This was...pretty amazing, to be honest. But if I beat him, somehow, I'd think it would be like this."

Even if it might just be a fantasy to her right now.

"You'll beat him, Luz." Loki said with confidence; he believed in her. "This? This was practice. You'll win." Both for support for her, and because she maybe needed a hug, Loki let an arm wind around her shoulder.

"Yeah...yeah, I will! One day, I will!"

Assuming she actually didn't die and somehow she DID have titan powers? She hoped this is how it would go.

"Thanks for the help, by the way. He would have gotten me without you. If I'm lucky, I'll get to be at least half as strong as you."

Not that she devalued herself here, but boy. Loki's strength was still really impressive.

"You're stronger than you think, Luz. And I think you'll be impressive all on your own. You already are in many ways or I wouldn't say so." Okay, there was definitely a little hug from the arm around her now.

"Now, you're aware this is a dream right? But that doesn't mean it's a bad thing."

"I...yeah. You'd know, of course."

Luz was trying to hide a smile, because it did help to hear that yes, she WAS strong, even if she was still sure she could get stronger.

"Oh, I''m pretty aware of that. As far as I know, this didn't happen when I faced him. But maybe with a little luck, I can make sure that I stop something this big next time."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TDM #9

As requested--Prompt 5

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Almost lost this one in the inbox. Sorry.

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No image! I wanted to see it too!

Rude! lemme try a dif. linking

It worked this time, yay!

Good. Yay dream logic and abilities!

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Can you tell I really love this moment? [Warning: Owl House Spoliers(ish)]

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