TDM 006

[etrayamods]

⏵ arrival ⏴ Arrival is absolutely not normal this month. Instead of a hospital bed, you wake in a tunnel with a large group of other people. These are the residents. A woman’s voice in an earpiece hurriedly clues you in with an apology. I apologize; I had not planned to introduce you this way, but we are low on time. Please proceed down the hallway. An image of a shattered pearl pops up on your personal HUD and rotates. I am Aurora. You are joining many others on Etraya in order to save your world from destruction by completing missions. Your current mission is to find the pieces of this object that have become scattered in the library ahead of you. For everyone else, coming in is much the same. The instruction goes out to head to designated areas immediately, where companion bots will escort the residents of Etraya down into the depths, the area beneath where much the same is explained. ⏵ disrobing ⏴ The tunnel eventually opens directly into the foreroom of an expansive library, painted in marvelous hues and patterns with skylights far above. There are wizards milling about, bearded and holding tomes, quietly chatting amongst themselves. The reception area of the library has tall ceilings with equally tall doors Before you get too caught up in the scenery, a voice directs you forward. A gentleman, hunched and bespeckled craws out. "Make a line! Make a line, everyone! You cannot enter the library dressed as you are... Come forward and give me your name." The receptionist asks your given name and then hands over a box from underneath his counter. You can give him any name you want, he doesn’t seem to mind. It is tied with a tagged ribbon- labeling it accordingly. “The _____ robe of _______.” (First Letter of Given Name) (Last Letter of Given Name) A Controlling N Helpful A Melodies N Light B Glimmering O Floating B Discretion O Mind-Reading C Wet P Handsome C Growth P Climbing D Gruesome Q Gullible D Grasping Q Jumping E Observant R Ratty E Flying R Hurting F Powerful S Adhesive F Reading S Guiding G Psychedelic T Sweltering G Dancing T Bug-Speaking H Swift U Cheerful H Shouting U Exploding I Voracious V Anxious I Extracting V Complaining J Soft W Likeable J Punishing W Dividing K Keen X Ruthless K Creeping X Slapping L Fabulous Y Dramatic L Walking Y Charming M Fair Z Demonic M Listening Z Combustion As you read what the contents of the box may be, they form inside- Looking and behaving as your character expects them to. After all, magic is all in the wielder’s mind. Don your robes and enter the library. ⏵ unfamiliar familiars ⏴ For those without a familiar (like one hatched from an egg not too long ago) you may borrow one from the library counter. They all have strengths and weaknesses, but they will all assist in the very important mission. As you roam the library, they will make little indications that you are closer or further from finding a piece of the pearl. Pro • Hardworking • Gives correct directions 75% of time • Won’t run away from you • Very affectionate • Gives correct directions only when paired with another rat, toad, or personal pet. • Gives correct directions 90% of the time Con • Must feed bookworms • Will run away if too close to a cat • Does not care for you • Sleepy • Will run ahead • Gets distracted by rats ⏵ the task at hand ⏴ With robes donned and creature in hand, you must now complete your mission. Find the pieces of the shattered pearl. As you enter the library, you may notice that it’s all very dim. There’s oil lamps around the place that may be moved with you to assist in your journey if your robes do not already emit light. Break off and search the library. There is a directory at the front to point guests to all the different sections. Wings of the Library A General Works B Music C Philosophy, Religion D Fine Arts E History, Auxiliary Sciences F Language and Literature G Magic, General H Science J Geography, Anthopology K Medicine M Agriculture N Hobbies, Recreation P Social Science Q Military R Political Science S Practical Arts T Law W People X Education Y Spiders Each section looks enough like the last, though the books within have immense power. Pick up the wrong book, and you might conjure a dragon or a historical figure! You must persist and avoid making too much noise or breaking too many things. Or else the Librarian, a tall mass of knotted fabric will confiscate your robe and usher you back outside. Your name will be struck from the list, and you must pick a new one to re-enter the library to continue the search. You can try to fight back against him- he may be set alight with the lamp. But should you be starting fires in here? ⏵ NOTES ⏴ Any thread with 15 comments between you and another may be submitted to find a piece of the pearl. There are 20 pieces altogether, and we will determine if the mission was successful by March 28th. A post will go live on the OOC comm for this! This mission occurs out of time, similar to how the spaceship had. Meaning, those currently in game can experience these events any time between now, and March 14th. Please direct all questions to our mod queries comment! ⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Comments

Arrival

[bigpoofymammoth]

[That yell certainly drew the attention of someone much larger than a vast majority of Etraya's residents. Manny is now fully alert and on guard as he quickly turns his head towards the source of the scream.]

What’s going on over here!?

[possessum]

[ Peter has been through all manner of The Horrors and The Confusions — both in the place he was before here, and back home — but this....

This is a new one.

His scream, at least, is cut off as soon as he sees Manny. Because of pure shock. The young man stands there, mouth open wide, eyes open wider, chest hitched with tight, frozen breath. Finally he manages to choke out something strained. ]

An elephant's talk— An elephant's talking.

[bigpoofymammoth]

[Manny has met people who’s shocked over the fact that he can talk. But this is the first time meeting someone who calls him an elephant, a closely related species.]

Close, but I’m a mammoth. And yes, I can talk.

[possessum]

[ Incredibly, the shock of this continues to steal Peter's focus from the shock of waking up in a tunnel with a bunch of strangers. He ogles the talking mammoth, his tall frame hunched inwards a bit, like he's trying to make himself smaller. ]

Wh-what do you want?

[ Is it to eat him? (Peter, mammoths probably don't eat possessed teenagers. Or any teenagers at all.) ]

[bigpoofymammoth]

[Manny? Eating him? That sounds like a bad joke, given what Manny has been through back home.]

For starters, I'll like to know why you’re screaming in the first place.

[possessum]

Oh... Well, uh... I...

[ Peter swallows hard, struggling through the strange haze of his own mind to find the words. ]

I guess I'm just really freaked out. And then some lady started talking in my ear—

[ Suddenly remembering it, Peter slaps the side of his head, feeling the earpiece and tearing it off, staring down at it in horror. Oh hell no. This has to be part of the experiment from the City, right? ]

When'd they put this on me—?

[bigpoofymammoth]

[Manny can certainly understand being freaked out in a place like this. The mammoth would've probably done the same thing if he was in his position.]

Given how the arrival process in this world works, they probably put it on you the moment you're brought here.

[possessum]

[ He does not understand why a talking mammoth has all the answers, but Peter latches onto those answers hard, desperately seeking understanding.

And what it seems like to him, is that this must be a part of the world he thinks he's still in. "The City", a simulation whose residents were all being toyed with. ]

So this is.... part of the experiment? Are you here to test me?

[bigpoofymammoth]

[Manny shook his head.]

No. I don’t even know what kind of experiment you’re talking about.

[possessum]

The uh... the city? The one that's apparently one big simulation. That's where we're at, right?

[ Even saying it aloud sounds insane. Peter wonders if he's maybe dreaming. ]

[bigpoofymammoth]

What do exactly mean by "one big simulation"?

[Even after spending over three months in Etraya, there’s still a lot that Manny doesn’t know when it comes to advanced tech.]

And no, we're in Etraya, a world that drags people from all kinds of worlds.

[possessum]

[ Oh, right, mammoths probably don't know about stuff like that, huh. ]

It was kind of like uh.... a fake world. Like some kind of illusion, almost.

[ He's not entirely sure that straight-up magic wasn't involved. ...Or maybe it really was all just advanced technology going on. Maybe it was aliens. ]

Etraya? [ God he's a long way from Utah. ] Does anyone know who's doing it?

[bigpoofymammoth]

I see... In that case, this is completely different from whatever fake world you've been dragged into.

[Considering what Manny has seen in Etraya, he wouldn’t be surprised if it’s somehow all three.]

From what I heard from others, there’s this one entity who's dragging all of us here to determine which of our worlds gets to live and which ones doesn’t. Aurora, the lady who talked through your earpiece, was that entity’s spokesperson and we're supposed to do all kinds of missions to determine our world's worth to them.

[possessum]

[ Completely different. The words send a fresh wave of fear down Peter's spine, and his eyes widen. Where the fuck is he? How did he get here? How does he get back?

As he listens to his mysterious new companion, that fear's only growing. An entity. He swallows hard, looking shaken, and stays silent for a few long moments before finally replying. ]

How do we leave? I need to... get back.

[ ...Not home. There's nothing left for him there. But the City.. he has friends, and the closest thing to family left. ]

[bigpoofymammoth]

Right now, none of us here had found a way of getting back to wherever we came from outside of being sent back by the very person who brought us here in the first place. And even then, no one knows exactly when does that happen outside of random chance.

[possessum]

[ Peter remembers how people would just randomly disappear in The City, too. No one knew how to get them back, or what that meant. Did they go back home? He's terrified for that to happen to him, but just as terrified to be trapped here, lost and alone.

His head dips down, throat suddenly tight. He's closer to a man than a boy, at his age, but he still feels so small most days. ]

I don't know what to do.

[bigpoofymammoth]

[Manny took in a deep breath and sighs. He isn’t exactly the best person for this sort of thing, but he feels like some words needed to be said.]

For now, it’s best to just stick with the others and head down this tunnel. There isn’t anything else we could do aside from doing the missions they've assigned for us.

[possessum]

[ Peter glances up at the group of people he woke up here with, some of them mulling around, others chatting quietly. Sticking with the herd does sound safest, so he gives a nod, swallowing against the lump in his throat. ]

What kinds of uh.. missions have they made you do?

[ He still can't believe he's standing here having a conversation with a literal mammoth, but this might as well happen. ]

[bigpoofymammoth]

Right now, we’re suppose to find pieces of a pearl in a library nearby. In the mission before that, we were assigned into groups and tasked with making a vehicle for a race. In my case, the group was put with decided to just put me on wheels so that they can use me as their ride for the race.