buttrinthum | TDM #1

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, and it simply gives you a welcoming:

“Welcome to my Labyrinth. Per our agreement, you have consented to live your life here for an undetermined amount of time. In exchange, I will grant you the wish that you desire the most.”

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: poinsettias and mistletoe. You’ll soon find out that being around the poinsettias give you an odd sense of joy no matter how confusing the situation may seem and the mistletoe, which is left over from the holiday season, gives you the desire to kiss or hold hands with the nearest person to you. It looks like there are plenty of others who are just now waking up from their dream-state as well.. why not go ahead and say hello?

Somnius / Snow Angels

With the influx of new life, the humble town a barkeep tells you is called Somnius seems to come alive as well, with new faces to join that of the resident fairies, goblins and other townfolk. There’s bustling energy to the land that the townfolk will tell you wasn’t quite there before, and some suspect that the presence of the new arrivals might be powering the world around them in some way - but that’s a question to be answered on another day. The quaint town of Somnius needs a little bit of care, that rustic feel to the mushroom houses, old shops and weathered castles too evident at first glance, but it’s not a bad place to live, as the locals will tell you. It almost seems like everything will be okay…

But of course, things are never so simple.

Whether you have been wandering around to get your bearings, talking to the locals or exploring your new humble (very humble) abode, you can expect to find mysterious ice sculptures - fashioned in the shape of snow angels, with blades in their hands - appearing in random places around the town. There are some that manifest in the middle of the street, some that sit quietly at the edge of an inn, and even some that appear right beside your bed, staring at you as you wake up. It’s unclear how these sculptures even got here, but close proximity to them will conjure up feelings of unrest, like you should not step any closer.

It’s smart to trust your gut in these situations. Step too close to a snow angel and it will come to life, moving with the grace of flowing water. They make a vague request and will spare only those able to heed it.

“Cold … so cold … Even the days of Visium are so cold. Have you any warmth to spare us?”

Some angels will accept an article of clothing as warmth. Others are greedy and keep demanding more, wanting to take everything that you have on your body. Heed their requests and they will spare you. Resist even just a little, and that’s when they draw their swords.

It’s not too easy to defeat an angel with brute force given that they reform themselves immediately. Running away or blasting them with fire could do the trick. Be careful not to get cut by their blades, however…

Characters who get cut by their blades will experience an inconsolable sense of chill and emptiness, right down to their bones. They will find themselves desiring ‘warmth’ from others in different ways - whether through physical contact, or affectionate words and gestures. There might be the few who go feverish in their desire for warmth. For those characters – the open fireplace is looking like a very tantalizing place to sit in right now (Yes, sit in, not by). They might even feel compelled to pull a friend in with them. That can’t be good for anyone…

The effects will only subside if the condition of receiving ‘warmth’ is met. This can be in the literal sense (physical warmth and intimacy) or figurative (feelings of love, acceptance and happiness).

Bonfire

When night falls, the temperatures only drop further, which does no favours for the poor souls who had to give up their clothing. The locals want to welcome the new arrivals and give everyone an opportunity to unwind from a busy and chaotic day of being hunted by snow sculptures. That’s why they’ve set up a gathering in the middle of town square. Food and alcohol is being generously supplied by The Cask & Anvil, and marketplace vendors have set up pop up stands to try and cajole the new arrivals into purchasing some fancy new clothes or a pretty gemstone they claim will ward off danger (claims not verified).

At the center of it all is a large bonfire that’s warming up the square. Everyone is encouraged to warm themselves by it after a long day, eat, and make merry. In fact, there’s a certain sense of enchantment to the crackling fire that seems to draw even the shiest wallflower in, pushing them to sit with others and make conversation. As the night goes on, the newly arrived dreamers will find themselves settling easily into the warm and bustling mood, any stresses and anxieties melting away. With time, they’ll start to find themselves without a filter, more than happy to talk about themselves and the life they had led prior to coming to Visium. In fact, they will feel compelled to share a story from their past - one that might be joyous, comedic, thrilling, or tragic. Whatever sorts of feelings come attached to their story, it will be one of emotional significance.

In the back of their minds, they might get the sense someone else is listening.

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. Please comment here to request an outcome for your character's labyrinth exploration and a moderator will get to you shortly. (The longest a character can stay in the Labyrinth is 3 days.)

You can find more information about the game here. Any questions regarding the TDM can go under the comment below.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Laura's somewhat taken aback by how chatty this girl is, but she listens to her nonetheless. The detail she pays the most attention to is the fact that the child had drunk the potion. Her own red potion with the 'drink me' label has been left in the satchel she'd received. So far the small blonde doesn't appear to be ill, and Laura wonders if perhaps the drinks are merely energy drinks to help the new arrivals properly awaken. She has little trust in this situation, and especially since her senses feel diminished. But logically, it would be a waste to bother with poison when the opportunity to kill people in their sleep presented itself.

For the moment, she decides that she'll keep an eye on this talkative little one until a parent or suitable caregiver can be found. She's briefly surprised when young Alice takes her hand, but clasps her fingers around the tinier hand easily.

"Yes. Introduce me to the flowers, Alice. My name is Laura. Laura Kinney."

She doesn't realize she's terribly chatty. Most days she has to be silent and listen to everyone. As she thinks this is just another part of Wonderland or the Looking Glass, she hasn't much reason to think Laura isn't just as mad as Alice. She smiled up at Laura and nodded.

"It's very nice to meet you, Miss Kinney," she offered with a single-handed curtsy. She then brought Laura over to the flowers.

"Everyone, this is Ms. Laura Kinney, she's not a flower either... actually," she turned to Laura, tilting her head. "Are you a flower? I realize I had just assumed and that is terribly rude of me to do so. I'm not a flower, not even a wildflower. Though I'm certainly not a weed," she warned at the flowers and then turned back to Laura. "I've never met someone who was a flower and became a person before, though I've not met anyone who was a person and then a flower before, either, so I shall be impressed either way."

"And you as well, Alice," Laura replies with a little nod of acknowledgement.

Was this what it was like to be a normal child? Introducing oneself to flowers, and imagining the idea of a person who was a flower, amongst other things. It's endearing and so vastly out of Laura's range of experience.

"I am not a flower. Or a wildflower or a weed."

With her free hand, she waves to the flowers to indulge Alice a little. "Hello."

Alice certainly sees herself as a normal little girl, so she would say yes, this is likely what it's like. Though she supposes most little girls don't go to Wonderland or the Looking Glass and have the thoughts she thinks. But then, she's not a mind reader, and she doesn't wish to be.

"Like me then, not a weed, or a flower, or even a wildflower. Well, that shall do all the same as well. I quite like being myself. I hope you like being yourself as well, Ms. Kinney! Now, flowers are very polite little things. So it's quite good of you to say hello, but you shall have to also carry a good deal of the conversation, they can't move, after all. They only know what walks about their part of the labyrinth."

"Do you speak to other plant life as well?" she inquires curiously. It's likely just Alice's imagination rather than an actual ability, but Laura does come from a world filled with mutants, aliens and magic. A little girl who can speak to plants isn't any stranger than the rest.

While she's asking largely in an attempt to make conversation, there is something nagging at the back of her mind. From what she's gathered so far, something here is nullifying her powers. Her senses are dulled from what they used to be, and she suspects she doesn't have her healing factor, either. It's likely for the best that her attempt to pop out her claws failed, in that case.

"Plants, animals, objects, if I'm introduced to my food, I'll have conversations with them too," she offered as she looked over to Laura. "I rather NOT be introduced to my food, because then I can't eat it since it's quite rude to eat something you've been introduced to." That's logic. "But I have found most everything will have a conversation with you if you say hello, first. Well, perhaps except a brick wall, or there wouldn't be an expression about speaking to them."

Alice looked up at Laura and smiled.

"Do you need to be listened to, is that why you ask?"

It's enough to confirm that Alice is not, in fact, a chloropath, and is just a very sociable little girl with a vivid imagination. Perhaps this is a subconscious strategy to keep her from being frightened in strange places? Or perhaps she's simply not the sort to think about danger.

"No, I was just curious. What did the bottle of blue liquid that you drank taste like?"

It's hard to say if that will reveal anything of use about the mystery beverages or not, but it's worth exploring.

No, no mutant abilities, at least, not any that Alice is aware of. She makes a soft sound of acknowledgment before 'hmm'ing softly as she pulls out the bottle from the bag currently hiding away in the flowers she had initially settled in. With a soft "thank you for watching my things" to the plants she comes back over to Laura.

"Pineapple and cherries," she offered as she held up the empty bottle. "It tasted very different than the other drink me."

Laura takes the empty bottle and sniffs, but her sense of scent is no longer strong or refined enough to pick up on the scent of any concerning chemicals. Alice's comment about this being the second 'drink me' has Laura arching an eyebrow.

"You received two potions here?"

"Here? No, the other one was in Wonderland," she offered easily. "That one made me shrink in size. I was quite pleased not to shrink again. Though, I wish I could find the 'eat mes' then I would grow tall enough to see above all the Labyrinth walls."

Laura wonders why Alice would choose to drink something that says 'drink me' after having an experience like that, but some questions are best left unasked.

"Yes, that would be useful. If you were that large, you could pick up other people struggling to find their way and help them through."

As for Laura, this situation makes her wish that her abilities weren't being suppressed somehow. Claws and superhuman senses would be tremendously useful for navigating such a place. She could climb the walls and run on top of them until she could find the way out.

"How long ago did you have the blue drink me here?" As she keeps an eye on Alice, she's also wanting to monitor her for side effects.

Oh Laura, there are a LOT of things Alice is willing to choose to do. It's true, best not to ask questions, the answers are infinitely more worrisome.

"I could just walk over the whole labyrinth in several steps," she offered with a giggle. "Not much of a maze then," though she supposed she could still find a tree to climb to see if she could get a proper look at the whole thing.

Alice tapped her chin in thought.

"I'm afraid I don't know, I haven't a pocket watch," she shook her head. "And I didn't think to look at the shadows for answers either. But I suppose at least five minutes or so have passed, at the very least. I've never timed myself making a flower crown but it takes at least that long to gather the right flowers and start linking them all together."

TDM #1

Garden

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