TDM #10

[labyrinevents]

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

Comments

[greenkinslayer]

"I find myself suddenly in a strange place with strange people, unarmed, and I am not to be wary?" That makes no sense to him. Loki is weird.

[whose_son_am_i]

"No, if you're smart--you're wary. I didn't expect you to be unsuspicious. I was actually attempting to reassure you. Clearly I failed."

[greenkinslayer]

"I doubt anyone would have success in this moment." He's draw his sword, just in case, but he doesn't have one. Seven Hells.

"What do you suggest I do first?"

[whose_son_am_i]

"I suggest you let me explain to you how the local currency works, and then you head to town. I can also try and answer some other questions if you'd like." Loki said amicably.

[greenkinslayer]

"Go on, then." He'll take as much general help as he can get right now. Knowing there's a town and others like him is somewhat comforting.

[whose_son_am_i]

"The local currency here is 'shard's. They're not physical, but are transferred between crystal pendants or the big crystal in town, if you're wishing for something. You gain them simply by interacting." Loki explained, more patiently than he was feeling honestly.

"There are also quite a few beings here who do not look human, so try to not assume they're automatically the enemy. Some of them are just like you and I--trapped here."

[greenkinslayer]

"I can request a sword, then." It won't be his but it will be something. The patience would be appreciated if it wasn't expected.

"I only assume something is the enemy if it tries to attack me and mine."

[whose_son_am_i]

"You can, there's also two blacksmiths in town. Would you like to know how to use your device?" Loki assumes yes, but he's still gonna ask just to be a smartass.

[greenkinslayer]

"Blacksmiths will be useful. I thank you."

The device? He'd forgotten about that.

"Aye. What is its purpose?"

[whose_son_am_i]

"Well, I'm guessing from your manner and dress, as well as unfamiliarity with it, that you're from a time period most would refer to as Medieval." Not that Loki expected Aemond to know what that meant. "The good news, is that most of the town and this area will be familiar in its ways and means to you then. But there are those of us brought here who are from what you or I would consider the future. Things such as electrically based indoor lighting, or running water in the home, might be unfamiliar but common to others. The device is modeled after things known as mobile telephone. A telephone itself is a device from the future, per our current viewpoint, that allows others to talk to each other over great distances via voice."

Loki was trying to keep it simple, but helpful. "If you'll examine the device, you'll notice it has buttons with numbers on them. Those numbers also may have tiny letters as well. You can use that device to talk to someone else who has one, by dialing their number or using the numbers to type out their username." There's an eyebrow raise. "Would you rather this be demonstrated?"

[greenkinslayer]

Again, a lot to take in all at once. He eyes the device as Loki speaks, again turning it over and studying it carefully.

"It projects our voice to another device, to be heard by an intended listener." It's a great simplification but it gets to the basic point, one that he can understand and utilize.

[whose_son_am_i]

"Not just our voices, but you can have it send text--as if it were a letter being read and written on the small screen. It can also send images, either captured in still-likeness known as a picture, or in moving format called video."

Loki is impressed, in a good way, that the other is picking this up quickly.

[greenkinslayer]

"Still, like a painting, or a moving picture. Interesting." He regards the device with a little more respect now.

"This is how we communicate with each other. Are there many here?"

[whose_son_am_i]

"Define many." Loki answered, although he wasn't intending to be sarcastic. "It's difficult to get a true count, as people come and go. Some quickly, some not for many weeks, or months, and a few have been here over a year."

[greenkinslayer]

He eyes Loki, sarcasm or no.

"More than twenty?"

[whose_son_am_i]

"Try.....about 40? maybe 50?. At least that I'm aware of personally. I'm sure there are more of us than that though."

[greenkinslayer]

He nods. That sounds more like what he was expecting.

"You said you are not given to walking in the gardens. Why stop to help me?"

[whose_son_am_i]

A good question, and one that Loki does not answer right away. Taking a moment to think about how to answer, to put it in words, the 'why'. "I suppose because I was treated with kindness when I first arrived. And have been treated with kindness since--when I am not accustomed to being treated with such that is freely given." A bit more thought out than most might suspect from him.

Then he's smiling with a small laugh. "That it allows me to meet people and see who has come and might be trouble or not, is also a benefit. Should someone also feel indebted to me for the information, that's no bad thing as well." As usual with Loki, there were multiple angles.

[greenkinslayer]

"A kindness for a kindness, then." He is not entirely surprised. "I am also not accustomed to such, so I thank you for it."

As for his other motives, "I do not intend to be trouble."

[whose_son_am_i]

"Most people don't. I'm one of the rare ones who does, on occasion, intend to be trouble. This is not one of those times, though. This really is just...kindness for a kindness." Loki sounded amused by that, even though it was true.

"Besides, we're all stuck in this situation whether we like it or not, and no one person alone has come up with a solution that works yet. Better the knowledge gets shared and we all try and work together to deal with this nonsense." Normally he wouldn't mind the nonsense except there was no choice in it here.

[greenkinslayer]

"I did not say I would not be trouble, merely that I do not make to be so on purpose." It always follows him, though. As does a large, green dragon. He searches the skies again, just in case.

"All hands on deck. Seems a worthwhile approach. What is the solution we are looking for?"

[whose_son_am_i]

"That's the other question." Loki said with a sigh. "Some want to get back home away from this place. Others want their wishes granted. The two are not mutually exclusive either, but how to solve them is where folks disagree."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "As I said, you're stuck here. What do you want? And while I'm curious you needn't tell me what you wished for, in your contract. If you're even aware of what you wished for."

[greenkinslayer]

"I recall." But he isn't going to tell. It's treason and that's not something he's at all comfortable voicing to anyone, regardless of where he might find himself.

"I would like my dragon. For the moment, however, I am keen to explore this place and see what it has to offer."

[whose_son_am_i]

"There are dragons here, although it's unlikely your personal dragon is among them. If that proves to be false, please let me know as it'll be an interesting piece of information." And Loki would be questioning the other further if that turned out to be true. He had not sensed the other lying yet...though that didn't necessarily mean anything definitive.

"Any other questions about your arrival here?"

[greenkinslayer]

"Are there?" He brightens at that. Look, Loki, you might have made his day.

"Is there somewhere to stay? An inn, perhaps?"