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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's an indisputable fact that most everyone back in Noh's world considers someone with features like hers--a Godling--to be cursed. Bad luck. Bringers of misfortune and doom. Walking remnants of the forbidden age when gods still ruled the skies.
Noh's been chased off for no reason other than the odd shape of her eyes; no matter how certain Katsuki sounds, she views him with hard-learned suspicion. What he's describing sounds too good to be true--something like that can't possibly exist. People don't look out for strangers. The only people that matter are your own.
...She does follow him, if for no other reason than the potential to discover more food wherever this "church" of his is. No one's reacted to her eyes so far, but there's no guarantee things are going to stay that way. Noh's on guard the whole walk to the church, eyes darting around like she expects to be jumped at any moment. ]
no subject
[Or, what he'd love to say but bites his tongue - you weren't looking hard enough. Kindness and compassion is not finite, no matter where you come from or what you may have been through. There are always going to be people that will show you care in some way, because people are just like that for the most part - they are social creatures that usually do try to seek camaraderie with others, or will just instinctively help when someone truly and sincerely need it.
But he doesn't say anything like that, because frankly? He doesn't care enough to argue with a dirty goblin about something she's bound to figure out soon enough. People from all walks of life are here in Visium, and some will have more patience to explain and help her. Katsuki? He's just willing to help as much as his Hero's duty allows and hope she doesn't do anything fucking stupid that he has to punish her for, because he will not hold back next time and it'll simply be on her.
The walk to the church is mostly uneventful - the villagers are acting odd and things are fucked up left and right, and Katsuki has to push a villager out of the way before they're trampled by a cart, grumbling a number under his breath (one can guess that's how many times he's done this during his patrol/walk). All in all...shit's weird, fam, but they make it to the church nonetheless and he pushes open the large doors and bows his head a little, respectfully, as a couple people are inside, praying.]
Inside, downstairs. C'mon. ...Try and nick anything and I'll blast your hands off.
no subject
The walk may be peaceful, but Noh doesn't relax for any of it. She's constantly checking their surroundings or reaction to movement off in the periphery. The first time Katsuki jumps to save someone Noh tenses up and prepares to lug an onion at his head, thinking he's finally decided to show his true colours and turn on her.
But he doesn't. He helps someone, just...because.
She can't makes heads or tails of it.
By the time they get to the church her glares have become softened glowering instead. She hesitates in the doorway when he beckons her. In any other situation she knows, this would be the moment she seals her fate. Never follow someone into a place you don't know. Especially underground, in a place full of people she doesn't recognize or trust.
It's his threat of all things that gives her the courage to take that first step and follow in after him. If he'd promised her shelter and safety she'd have bolted. ]
Hah. Like I wouldn't get yours first, cactus-head.
no subject
Keep talking like that, Squid Eyes, and I'll pop 'em out of your skull and feed them to you as the appetizer.
[The downstairs is actually quite spacious, with a few rooms for guests to temporarily stay ad sleep, as well as a decently sized pantry (which is closed and locked at the moment), and of course...a kitchen. It's very medieval style, with a brick oven and everything, but it'll work just fine for what he needs it for. He motions to a counter as he grabs a few logs off to the side to toss into the stove, as well as some kindling.]
Put the ingredients down there. [While the fire starts to ignite the wood, he's grabbing a pot, a knife, a bowl, and spooning out a small bit of lard into the pot.] You know how to peel potatoes?