TDM #1

[labyrinmods]

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.

Comments

[takumina]

I bumped into this one guy when I first woke up.
Bit of a temper problem, name's Akira.
He HAD a blue potion but I couldn't tell you if he drank it or not.
You could just ask like you did about the bandages.
'Hey, anyone have a blue potion and actually drink it?'
Easy peasy.

( you've done weirder things, noct. like go on a sidequest to rescue beans despite how much you hate them.

not that he would know that, of course, but sometimes we like to break the fourth wall in introspection. )

[illustro]

so there are potions with other colors huh
Akira, I'll keep it in mind
I wonder if people tossed the potion away thinking it was poison

...
I could

[That involves face-to-face conversation and him not being awkward. So he wants to avoid it. Where's Ignis to handle diplomacy for him?

And he did... those damn frogs...]

[takumina]

Blue is healing, red is elemental magic, and gold is animal transformation.
I can't imagine everyone would be all right with swallowing some unknown substance all willy-nilly.
Unless they have zero self-preservation.

See?
It really is that easy.
Or you could ask someone else to do it if you feel strange asking.

( he might not have his godmode powers right now, but he does know how to read people.

your babysitter can't fight all your battles for you, sir. much as we know he would if he was here. gotta put on the big boy britches sometime, don't you?

the frogs. fetch quests for cindy. fetch quests for the cat because it was hungry. we could go on. )

[illustro]

I see
I wonder if trading the potions is possible
Not that I'd trade mine, I don't want animal features
cute, but no

there's not a lot of options really
and I need my hand fixed so

[Push came to shove, he needs to put on those big boy pants that were offered. Also, who doesn't like seeing Ignis pop off on enemies? He has the most dangerous babysitter ever.

Fetching food for a hungry cat is not weird! Cats are cute and innocent and lazy and everything he wants to do now but can't]

[takumina]

Which one did you end up with?
I got the gold one, myself.
And drank it.
Still trying to get used to having a tail occasionally.

What happened to your hand, anyway?
If it just needs bandaging, you might be able to ask one of the locals if they have any first aid supplies you can have.
Or barter for.
Not quite sure how everything works here yet.

( who doesn't like seeing someone they're close to, that just so happens to be dangerous, pop off on anyone at any given time? but from his perspective it's when he has a chance to see one of his students take out a higher level curse on their own. proud mentor moment.

oh, noct. you really need to meet megumi. you two would get along famously. )

[illustro]

Red one
I had elemental powers back home so this doesn't feel any different
except it's way weaker

Tail...? Oh animal transformation
...cat tail?

One of the angels managed to nick me with a blade before I could take off my shirt
I'd rather have it either healed or properly bandaged

[takumina]

Oh, well at least it's something you're used to, more or less.
If it's weaker ... I bet that makes you pretty interesting.

Cat tail, yes.
Leopard to be exact.
I have to admit, the spots are kind of nice.

I avoided those things at all costs and it looks like I had the right idea.
No harm in asking the locals, in that case? There has to be someone around here willing to lend a helping hand to a newbie.

[illustro]

well you could say that
it also makes this entire ordeal without powers weird

[can't warp out of mid-battle and run, what a shame.

also cat tail... cats, his weakness]

does it give you any advantages?
or is it just like an accessory? the tail I mean

definitively right idea, I accidentally got close to one, didn't see it behind the corner
yeah, I'm still looking, I'll find something eventually