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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.
no subject
It is good to have someone to guide you. Though... is your teacher Loki, per chance? [He was the only other one she had met who used symbology to perform magic, though she wasn't sure if runes qualified as glyphs...]
no subject
[Or humans could be the reason for their lives being at stake, ugh. Belos really did ruin all of her more innocent queries].
I'm an aspiring witch. I can do magic her though, so it would be silly for me not to call myself one. And yes, I'm pretty darn lucky that I can.
[Really, she shouldn't, but she wasn't about to question it too much].
I'm pretty happy about it too, since I don't know anyone else who does magic with glyphs.
Yeah, right on the nose! How did you know?
no subject
[She offered the truth with a small smile.] He's the only other one here that I've seen use some type of similar magic, so it was a lucky guess. I'm more used the magic being used from the atmosphere or created, so I'm sure there are many more forms of magic that I have yet to see. I appreciate you being so willing to share your knowledge with me.
no subject
[That was an interesting concept]!
That's more how magic works on the Isles, because witches have bile sacs. They can cast on their own without the glyphs, but that effort causes more of a strain on them. So even their way of using magic is unique to that world.
Oh, of course! I'm trying to learn what I can too! Magic from all over is always worth talking about!
(Enjoying this interaction ^_^ were we wanting to wrap the 'loop' soon? I didn't have a plan XD)
[It was the truth, and she was glad for it.]
So even witches from your world can have strain from casting magic, if its from their own resources? [She filed the information away for later. Maybe... if she was ever able to meet these witches... they might be able to help her with her own similar problem.]
Same! Let's just say they get to wrapped up in talking they free themselves?
[Because, of course, she could see it not only existed, but that there was an alternate way to do it herself]!
Everyone's got limits. My problem is that I have to be really fast when I cast. If someone's, like, a martial artist, if I haven't prepped for that I'm going to have to go on the defensive and I can be beaten through speed.
(Alright! Wrap with yours :D)
Sometimes, no matter how much you practice, there are things you are unprepared for. Speedy casting... I guess that will only improve with repetition.
[Suddenly, she stopped walking, taking in her surroundings...] Hey Luz... [Getting the other girl's attention, she pointed ahead of them. Town was closer than it had been and, while she didn't want to say it just in case, they weren't looping this time.]
no subject
[She did stop in her track when she realized that they were now effectively out of the loop]!
Awesome! We did it! Actually, now that we have, can I treat you to supper?
no subject
[She gave a warm smile to Luz at the offer.] Of course. So long as you still have time? If not, I don’t mind pushing it off to a later date.
[That had been the deal after all - and while Elias might have chided her for potentially extending the terms of the agreement, she didn’t want to force the other girl to spend time with her if Luz had something to do.]
no subject
[Luz pointed her hand in the air]. Something you'll have to learn about me- I ALWAYS make time for my friends! Also, I have the day off from work so it fits me fine!
Have a favorite meal in mind?
(want to wrap here? ^_^ this was fun!)
[Still, she couldn't help smiling at Luz's positivity rubbing off on her.]
That works perfectly then. I have quite a bit of free time myself these days. A favorite meal... I'm not very particular about what I eat, so do you have any recommendations of good places in town?
Sure! We have to get them to hang out again!
[Luz was infectious. The sooner people realize this the easier it will be for them...or maybe spray her].
Oh sure! I know a place where the Gelfling's make some meat pies that are like little pockets of heaven! I'll show you!
(Wrapped! And yes! Chise needs more friends her age XD)
[With a nod and a small smile, Chise followed after Luz. That was, after all, her payment... though she would secretly admit to herself that, maybe - here, at least - it had been an excuse all along... one that allowed her to stay with her lively friend just a bit longer.]