labyrinevents: (Default)
Labyrinthum Events ([personal profile] labyrinevents) wrote in [community profile] buttrinthum2024-07-20 09:30 am
Entry tags:

TDM #10 OVERFLOW


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 [community profile] 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.

pokeabear: (listening)

[personal profile] pokeabear 2024-07-27 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
"Not really, no," Halsin shook his head, opening his own satchel to produce a gold-colored potion. "And it seems as though I got a different one from you which makes me wonder even more what they might be."
pointedup: (pic#17311253)

[personal profile] pointedup 2024-07-27 01:58 am (UTC)(link)
"Not exactly what I had in mind when I asked for a stiff drink." Krem chuckled. "Maybe someone around town knows, assuming we're not alone here."
pokeabear: (stern watcher)

[personal profile] pokeabear 2024-07-27 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
Halsin considered the potion in his hand again before sliding it back into the satchel and closing it so the contents wouldn't get spilled onto the ground. "Then let us continue and hope that these lights will actually lead us somewhere useful."
pointedup: (pic#17311260)

[personal profile] pointedup 2024-07-27 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
Krem nodded. They were so close he could see the dirt path that indicated the edge of the garden. Right as he was going to step over in that direction, a handful of sunflowers popped into existence, and he hit them like they were made of bricks.

"Andraste's arse!" He cursed. "Harder than the Chief's head."
pokeabear: (wary)

[personal profile] pokeabear 2024-07-27 04:28 am (UTC)(link)
Halsin was surprisingly quick for his large build but he wasn't fast enough to stop Krem from walking into the sunflowers that popped up out of nowhere. Still, he moved forward to brace a hand against Krem's back to make sure he didn't fall over while frowning at the offending flowers.

"Careful, I guess we need to go in another direction," he stepped back, waiting for Krem to choose. "Who is the Chief?"
pointedup: (pic#17311254)

[personal profile] pointedup 2024-07-27 04:37 am (UTC)(link)
Krem turned, frowning when he noted the lack of light. The one that was guiding them seemed determined for them to go through the flowers now currently in their path.

"Leader of the Charges. We're a mercenary band. You... ĥa. Almost thought you were him at first, if I'm honest. He's about as big but twice as ugly." Affectionately.
pokeabear: (almost smirk)

[personal profile] pokeabear 2024-07-27 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
Halsin had noticed the lights staying where they were too which made him frown as he looked in the direction they had been heading before the sunflowers popped up. "Do you think there's a way to get by them?"

Then he chuckled at Krem's description of his leader. "Well, I guess I should be happy for that last part."
pointedup: (Default)

[personal profile] pointedup 2024-07-27 05:12 am (UTC)(link)
"Gotta be." Had to be. Krem took a moment to glance around, crouching when he spotted an odd hole in the stem of one of the sunflowers. "...This look like a keyhole to you?"
pokeabear: (stern watcher)

[personal profile] pokeabear 2024-07-27 04:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Halsin stepped closer to the other side where he could crouch down and get a look at the odd hole in the stem of one of the flowers. Then he looked to Krem with a bit of a confused frown. "Did you see any keys anywhere?"
pointedup: (Default)

[personal profile] pointedup 2024-07-30 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
"Not at a glance. But I'll take this side if you take the other?" He pointed left. "Split our efforts? Maybe we'll get lucky."
pokeabear: (listening)

[personal profile] pokeabear 2024-07-30 02:18 am (UTC)(link)
"Sounds like a plan," Halsin nodded as he moved to the right side of the path, starting his search.