buttrinthum | TDM #10

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. 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: Sunflowers and Hibiscus. You’ll soon find out that being around the Sunflower makes it difficult to pass through the already disorienting garden, even with the light guiding you. Where patches of them grow, even if only waist-high, you cannot pass through them, over them, or even destroy them to get them out of your way. In each grouping that blocks your path, there is one that has a key-shaped opening in the middle of the flower. Maybe the key is nearby? (Spoiler: it's probably under a rock nearby that you forgot to check!) The hibiscus offers an entirely different effect - inhaling the pollen grants you the temporary ability to shoot fireballs out of your hands. But be careful, those fireballs are difficult to control and seem to bounce in random directions no matter how hard you try to aim (cannot be used to destroy the sunflowers). The effect ends once you step out of the garden.

It's Dangerous to go Alone! Take This.

Somnius is once again recovering from a devastating blow. Buildings need to be restored to their former glory and the emotional turmoil of the previous weeks surely needs to be alleviated. What better way to lighten the mood than a little fun for the whole family? A new arcade has appeared in town, beckoning residents with its stone doors set wide open.

With multiple levels, a variety of games and even a snackbar, Appl3 Pi Arcade is sure to be a hit!

Of course, as with everything that ever happens in Somnius, the arcades appearance is not without some complications. For one, playing the games inside might see characters teleported into the machine itself, perfectly pixelated to fit the game they're in. Hope you weren't about to fight the final boss, because now you might be fighting for your life! The good news is, if you die in the game... you don't die in real life and are just popped back out into the arcade again.

Strange things happen outside the arcade too. Walking down the road you might suddenly see a healthbar pop up above someone's head. Are you supposed to fight them? Are they going to fight you? Best to be cautious and reach for any trusty weapons you have just in case. Weapons that have become pixelated and can be pulled seemingly out of nowhere like some kind of hammerspace. They are also prone to breaking and shattering into glimmering pixel pieces (your normal weapons are still intact, don't worry).

Boxes and pots around Somnius are somehow more breakable than usual, smashed open with a single swing of those pixel weapons and producing gold coins! What a shame gold coins aren't the currency here. But if you don't want to destroy more things around Somnius, why not try fishing instead? That seems safe - if not suddenly more difficult with the fishing minigame that popped up in front of you. Quick! Keep the fish icon in the green bar or you'll lose it!

All things considered? It's all relatively harmless fun up until-

But Enough Talk, Have At You!

Vaeros wakes up. For those new to town, this means nothing. For those that were here for the castle raid? They can rest assured that they're in for a surprise. The Overlord of Visium has finally awoken from his Hyalily induced coma and he is furious. A shout echoes from the castle:

"Did you think you had won, dear Dreamers? Did you think you had bested me? Go, play your games, but know that there is only one winner here, and it is me."

A wave of magical energy sweeps through the town, shaking it to the very core. Miraculously, the destroyed buildings and any remnants of the forest onslaught are gone and returned to their usual state. Perhaps Vaeros shouting was just another tantrum, an empty threat?

Not quite.

The town has been restored, but the locals? They are nowhere to be seen - cowering in their homes and fleeing to the sanctity of the Church of the Moon in hopes of staying out of sight of Vaeros and Dreamers both. The once tame video game effects are now far more intense - monsters from within those games are now rampaging through the town. They seem to shift through buildings, but if they run face first into a Dreamer, they will find them very corporeal and very deadly.

Not only that, but the lines are starting to blur between reality and fiction again, the healthbar above your head flickering in and out, the monsters turning from pixel beasts to real, live animals that roam Somnius - both feral and not. One second you are walking through town, and the next you are stepping onto a platform that starts to break under your weight, demanding you jump to the next platform before you plummet into an odd, multicolored abyss.

And strangest of all is that music coming from the labyrinth, growing louder when you approach and fading out when you move away.

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.

OVERFLOW POST

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

UserName: SilverTongue

I'd be worried if you weren't a little overwhelmed by this place. I won't say it all gets easier, but it does get simpler in some ways to manage and deal with. The potions are safe enough, as in not poisoned. Gold will allow you to change into some kind of animal--I'm afraid you don't get to choose. Blue allows for healing magic. Red will grant you some kind of elemental ability like Fire or Lightening. You do not get to choose which element.

You also don't have to drink it at all if you'd rather not.

Weird monsters, even really weird ones are...not that unusual here. Fortunately, there are no few of us who are able to help deal with these things should you want assistance.

[Anna gives Loki a cheerful little wave from her end of camera, only to turn more antsy as the message progresses.]

Hello again! Thanks again for all your explanations so far. I did learn about the colors of the potions, I'm just not sure about the... Well, the magic itself. How it works, I mean. Like I said, I don't have much experience with using it myself, so I don't know if that could lead to problems. [There's a little scrunch of her nose as she imagines herself trying to control ice magic. Elsa already had enough trouble with it, and she's the most composed person Anna knows.]

So... Wait. Unusual monsters are usual here, is what you're saying? There's just going to be more of them?

Well, there are plenty here--including myself--who can help you learn to manage the magic should you decide to drink it. "Unusual" monsters aren't so 'usual' so much as strange happenings in general are 'usual'. There are some native foes here, but they're less of a problem than when things get strange. Which...is hard to describe properly even for me.

The town and its surroundings will change, or provide new obstacles. It may look different, bring new challenges, bring in new beings who are not here as we 'dreamers' are but exist here all the same temporarily. Right now is one such period of strangeness. The strangeness itself varies in type, but it happens all the same.

[She cocks her head to the side as she tries to take all that in. It sort of makes her regret she didn't prepare a pen and paper to write all this down.]

Okay, thaaat's... a lot, actually. I mean. I know a thing or two about strangeness, but you're making it sound like it's going to happen every other day. [Her hands fold together and start wringing antsily.] Sssoooo, I guess what you're saying is I should definitely drink the potion and learn to control the magic as soon as possible? So I can defend myself and everyone else who needs it?

I think whether you should drink it or not is up to you. I haven't drank mine, for example. But I've had other abilities and magic outside of whatever that potion might give me. I am saying that if you choose to, there are those who can help you. Including myself, as I've been teaching a few others as well.

I wouldn't say every other day, but certainly about every month or so.

Every month or so is still a lot...!

I guess if I had my own special abilities, I might not bother with the potion either. Why accept something unfamiliar from a suspicious source when you've got a perfectly good version of it yourself, right? And- I mean- I'm not helpless without abilities. I can do... stuff, but if there's going to be weird monsters, the special powers might be the best option.

Lady Anna, I am not going to be one to tell you what to do. Only you can make that choice, regarding drinking the potion or not. No one here has said you are helpless, either. There are plenty who can do things without magic just as there are those of us who can.

[Oop, called out. She was indeed hoping for someone else to just make the decision for her, it's true. She hangs her head, looking conflicted.]

I... I know. I'm sorry, I don't mean to put the choice on someone else. I suppose it just feels like... If most people here have special powers, then not having them myself would be... I don't know. It's alright to be without magic in a world where almost no one has it, but in a world where magic is the norm? It feels like being left out.

An understandable feeling, but one that only you can make a choice on. No one is judging you either way, I believe.

[She hums under her breath, not quite doubtful in tone but thoughtful all the same.]

I'm... not sure if being judged is the problem. It's more about how I feel, I suppose. I just want to make a decision that I'm at peace with, and part of that is gathering as much information as possible, you know?

There is such a thing as having too much information to choose from. I believe it's called Paralysis Indecision.

What? That's a real thing?! [She looks suitably horrified. 'Paralysis' makes the term ten times more intimidating.]

I don't want that! That sounds terrifying!

It means you're unable to make a choice because you feel you have too many options. Roughly. Yes, it's real. It does not mean you're actually paralyzed physically.

Ohh, so it's like... Say you're in the middle of a crossroads, but there's twenty different roads to choose from and no signs to let you know where any of them lead, so you just stay where you are because that seems safer?

Exactly. And thus you never get anywhere.

That makes sense... So at some point I need to just accept that I have enough information and make the decision, huh?

[She hums under her breath, her gaze straying towards something off screen. The potion bottle is standing on a desk nearby.]

TDM #10

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