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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.
(Now I'm just imagining the day that Arrakis' voice comes from dragonfly and Chise's like "eh?" XD)
[Her next best choice, aside from stumbling into another patch of water or asking the local businesses, was to bring the dragonfly to the river where she drew water. Explaining this to him as they walked, so that he would know what was going on. After all, the creature had a choice in this too.]
"I don't think the shop where I get herbs will have much water... but there is a small river near the cottages. That's where I draw water, since the house doesn't have any amenities." [She smiled down at him, content.] "That's certainly the least of my worries. I'm just glad there's a place to get water otherwise... if it's still water." [There was the slight concern that the river could have turned to lava too... but she would think of something else if that was the case.]
[Her thumb ran over the dragonfly's back carefully at the nuzzle.] "I know. You'll feel much better once you have that stuff off of you. Baths are always cleansing like that."
lol well if Chise ever gets the ability to talk to animals that can be arranged!
Arrakis reacted with a happy shiver when Chise ran her thumb over his back. Oh! That felt good and Arrakis leaned into her touch with another purr like warble. Forget the bath and just continue petting him like that! His wings could wait.]
Oh my gosh he's so adorable <3 XD
"Alright, we'll try to find the river then." [A bit of reassurance. Letting out a light laugh, she continued to pet his back gently as she looked around. Spotting her house, she pointed it out - both for his benefit in the future.] "There's my Cottage. Now, if I remember correctly, the river should be somewhere nearby."
[Taking slow, deliberate steps as they walked around, careful to not drop the dragonfly... she could at least be grateful that the fish had stopped falling from the sky for a moment. Some still flopped on the ground, others walking on both fins with small top hats and... the gurgle of the river nearby. She almost missed it among all of the noise.]
[Her steps quickened as they neared it. After all, that gunk couldn't be comfortable, and she was almost worried of the possibility of it sealing his wings shut if left too long...]
"There!" [She smiled in relief as she spotted it. The river was still water - mostly. Effects overlapped - one, like the gurgling of a creek, however somewhat subdued after a period of no rain, and the second was the quality of the water itself... almost floating in wisps, a dream-like laziness to it." "At least it's still within reach. Let's get you cleaned off now."
hehe success! I'm glad!
He didn't realize how much he relied on his wings for balance until Chise's steps quickened. With a startled squawk he started to topple to the side before he wrapped his tail around her finger. Well that was exciting! His series of quick chirps sounded similar to laughter as he nodded to Chise. Yeah they should probably deal with the goo sooner than later.
(And now I can do this XD)
[When she was sure the dragonfly was stable, she knelt down by the floating creek, cupping the creature with one hand and grasping some of the water with the other... and began to rub it against the goo on his wings. Gently, but with just enough force to unstick the goo. Repeating the process until his wings were clean again.] "There. Is that better?"
[Chise waited until she received an answer before she looked in the direction of her cottage with a small smile.] "Well... I did promise to show you. Do you have time?"
(yes! sorry it took me so long to get to this)
As soon as they started to feel lighter, Arrakis felt the urge to fly again and his wings threated to unfurl as Chise worked. He tried to restrain himself but as soon as Chise was finished his wings unfurled with a dramatic flourish. Much better! His wings still felt a bit heavy from the water but Arrakis didn't want to wait and he hovered a few inches off the ground to test his wings. He turned to Chise with a happy chirp. Good as new! Well, close enough and he floated back down to give his wings a break.
He perked up at the offer to see her place and he answered with a series of excited nods. Absolutely!]
(No worries! ^_^ and not me having to figure out what state Chise's cottage is in XD)
"Well then, it's right this way."
[She gave him the option of flying or being carried - whichever he was more comfortable with now - as she led him to the house. True to her words, the cottage was only a bit further from the river. The outside of the house looked a bit run-down due to the recent attack, but - upon entering - the inside was much cozier. A bit sparse, as all she had was really the standard furniture the cottage had come with, but there was still a warmth to the house.]
[Chise laid the dragonfly gently on one of the end tables, then removed her school coat.] "Make yourself at home. Now you'll know where to find me if you ever need something."
lol I'll take notes for Soo Won
The inside of the cottage was nice. Arrakis hopped onto the end table and looked around with a curious chirp.]
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“Oh, would you like anything? I don’t have much but… I could bring some water and berries. What do you normally eat? …ah, not that you could tell me anyway, but a simple nod or no could help.” [She gave him a smile, somewhat embarrassed.]
no subject
He liked talking with Chise like this and he reassured her with an amused chirp. He then bobbed his head up and down twice with a clear pause between the two. Water sounds great, all that hopping around to avoid fish is thirsty work and he likes berries. Anything sweet always a yes for him.]
no subject
“Alright then.” [Humming, she went to the kitchen to retrieve two bowls, one filled with water and the other filled with local berries. She had made sure they weren’t poisonous beforehand, and there wasn’t any fear of them having an effect outside of the Enchanted Garden.] “Here you go. I hope you like it.”