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etrayamemes2025-01-02 03:19 pm
etrayamods) wrote in etrayamemes2025-01-02 03:19 pm
TDM 006
 ⏵ 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. 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 _______.”
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.
 ⏵ 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.
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? 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! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
the task at hand (hewwo.... finally, it's jhey time)
And there is one visitor who doesn't need the lanterns to see through the dark. His eyes--scleras black, pupils white to gold--peer easily through the shroud, with his own familiar (a toad) using this as an excuse to sit in the centre of both of Gorgug's hands. It makes it difficult for Gorgug to check out any of the books, let alone hold a source of light. He's trying to look for this apparently broken shard of pearl anyway, but it hasn't been going well, so far.
Does it have something to do with the books? Is there an extra floor to the library? A basement?
Gorgug's still checking out the aisles first, and that's when he spots--a figure. A guy he doesn't know; and, perhaps, Peter might hear someone approach the aisle before they even get so close to him to be seen under lantern light, with a robe like that. But when Gorgug doesn't carry a light source himself, it's difficult to see much; or perhaps standing still in a fugue state is far more interesting for Peter.
...but nevertheless, a figure approaches. Spotting Peter, but not saying anything until he gets closer. A ] Hi? [ spoken carefully, the kind when you want to call out but know you have to be quiet, and said if Peter speaks out too.
And then, the figure comes close enough to be made out to the other: a figure of green. A snub nose, long jaw, and pointed ears. There's magic about him for Paimon to notice, but there's no particular alignment, and he's taller than Peter by six inches.
Will Gorgug get to say anything else? Much of all? It's time to find out. ]
delicious Ree Tags in my inbox again....! the universe has been corrected (╥ ᴗ ╥)
But there is something in him that perceives the stranger. The demon's energy is already so alert due to the magic and tomes of this place, as though the sands of itself have been sifted and cleared, exposing something that's been buried for a long, long time. That something peeks out with much clearer vision than it's been capable of having ever since it was touched too directly and manipulated by human hands.
The figure approaching abruptly has the ancient thing's focus shifting right to him. It can't distinctly pinpoint what that magic might entail, or what, exactly, this newcomer even is, but... it sees him, feels him. It's fully aware he's there, before Peter ever will be.
Fortunately, it doesn't take much to snap him out of it right now, and as soon as someone speaks verbally to him, Peter's alive again, eyes opening wider as he gives a sharp exhale of breath.
....Unfortunately, between the mix of his own dazed confusion and the appearance of a very tall, very non-human-looking individual peering at him in the flickering darkness (the nearest lantern is currently coming from far down the row, and Gorgug's distinctive eye colour is, perhaps, especially daunting in such lighting) — ....he's not reacting well.
Peter jumps like he's been electrocuted and tries to scramble back in his panic, which only causes him to make contact with a nearby shelf, sending a couple of books tumbling down. Hopefully it isn't enough to draw that librarian(?) thing(?) over just yet. ]
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There's a thwop sound as the thing falls to the floor, croaking after, and Gorgug misses it under the noise of the footsteps he takes back first. He blinks rapidly, searching for the guy and then the toad, but figuring to focus on the other guy first. ]
What? What? Don't scare me-- I said hi!
[ He speaks in a raised whisper, a whine of a person who has been wronged by being jumpscared--it's not fair to go scaring Gorgug like this! It doesn't matter if it's dark!
For whatever his appearance comes across as, his voice is definitely on the upper side of older teen, young adult. And this upper side of older teen, young adult, has gone back trying to look for his toad ("Heello?"), but the thing has gone hopping over to the books... gonna look for bookworms!!! ]
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But what comes next is—
'Don't scare me'
Wait, that's his line! Hearing the very inhuman-looking stranger say it stuns Peter enough to shut up his whimpering breaths, staring with eyes wide as saucers as he watches the stranger proceed to look around in the dark for what he'd dropped. In his own palm, Peter's toad gives a soft croak, and his head snaps down to look at it. ....He and this boy are some strange mirror image of one another (albeit one being taller and greener, but—) They both have a toad... they're both spooked by one another.... and they're both young. Peter can indeed hear it in Gorgug's voice, something that definitely registers as Around His Age.
These facts all combined help his kneejerk panic, even if just a little. Enough to have him not actually losing himself to that panic the way he otherwise might. He stares at the other, still plastering himself back against the bookshelf, before... carefully.... ]
I'm— I'm sorry. Didn't mean to— to scare you.
[ His voice cracks a bit somewhere in there, throat tight with his own anxiety. What he says next isn't an accusation, more just a confession, breathed out in a fast hush. ]
You scared me, too.
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The toad still..looks like a toad? And it looks okay? So Gorgug looks back at the other guy, unsure about his confession, but... he does sound scared. ]
...Okay, [ he says, sounding reluctant, but: ] It is dark... [ But he looks the other up and down, thinking it might be more than that, and so he asks, ] --Were you doing something? ...standing there?
[ Because it kind of looked like he was looking at the books, if "zoning out" is a way to look at books. But what if he was doing something interesting? Like some magic?
You never know. You can never be sure! ]
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It reminds him of— other frightening things. He never really saw the vampire that attacked him that night, he was too out of it, too dazed, drifting like a sleepwalker. But apparently the creature lured him away out into the gardens and when Peter woke the next morning, he had two holes in his neck, crusted in blood. Vanessa was deeply upset.
And this figure..... kind of looks like what he imagines a vampire might. At the very least, he's definitely not human. It's only that youthful tone of his voice that continues to keep Peter from freaking the fuck out (more than he already has. The fact he hasn't passed out or is screaming his head off right now is a lot, for him!) ]
Um— [ He starts, flinching a little as Gorgug gives him a scan over — please don't eat him, please don't eat him — but it's not an easy question to answer. He has no idea what he was doing, no memory of it. He barely remembers being here at all, his mind a scrambled-up mess of too much.
...And the other thing is facing Gorgug dead-on now, also looking into those eyes, but it's not with the fear that Peter has. There's curiosity that borders on fascination, the demon king so sensitive to the presence of magic. It swirls around inside of Peter, and though it may be difficult to tell in this darkness, something in his own wide eyes sparkles a few times, glittering beetle-black, alive and aware. What are you? it wonders in some hissed unintelligible whisper that Peter can't decipher, can only feel as a sudden chill rippling down his spine. He shudders, eyelids fluttering again. ]
I think I'm lost. Do you— Do you know where this is?
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And their answer just confuses Gorgug, blinking at him. He doesn't sense the other residing in Peter--he doesn't have that keen of a sense, his magic more muted than someone more proficient. So he looks at the person before them, then answers, slowly looking around: ]
...a library? [ Is it a trick question? Is Gorgug misunderstanding the actual question? He looks back at the guy, figuring it might be the last, as- ] Do you mean...you're lost in a "You don't know what's going on" way, 'cause there was a woman in your ear telling you something about finding a shard, or how our worlds are ending...?
[ Is he hitting close? He's definitely trying to search if he's on the right track here, and there's nothing superficial in his tone. ]
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...........Why would he be in a library? He doesn't read.
But as the other continues, mentioning a woman in his ear, a shard, worlds ending.... Those pieces start coming back into place, like something resting at the bottom of a very murky body of water. He can glimpse what's there a little more now, even if his memory's still so strange and muddled, the demon's energy continuing to flicker in and out of his own, like the world's most haunted television set blipping back and forth between channels. It doesn't help that Paimon is so very set and focused on Gorgug, wanting to understand him, while Peter is flinching away from that concept, still wrapped up in the initial fears that he's a vampire or something. It means he's some bizarre mixture of tensing back away from him and also being unwilling to break his focus on the other boy. ]
Wait a minute— that really happened? [ The woman, the instructions... It wasn't some... dream? (Or worse, some hallucination, because he still thinks he might just be fucking crazy, the way his mom and her brother and their mother were. Maybe he's lost his goddamn mind.) ]
The woman— this place.... We're not still in The City? The uh— the simulation?
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But Peter asked the question. A question that widens his eyes, and he points at Peter: not outstretching his arm, but with a sudden aha! in his bones. ]
I asked her if we were in a simulation, and she said no. [ That was one of his questions!! He knew it would become relevant! And Gorgug feels so smart right now...! Even if he only asked it because, sometimes, you want to ask an AI random stuff? ]
It's all real. Everything's real. As far as we know. [ A beat, and he points down. ] This is a library, and this isn't connected to the city. It's somewhere else. But we go back later.
[ Right back to that city, Etraya. ]
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But it does kind of make sense that any information they might've been given about it could be false, or skewed, or any number of things. No one could really trust what was going on, even if there were people trying, investigating, sharing what they'd learned. (And of course, Peter was never really too in-the-know about it.... At any given moment he was just hiding under a rock and choosing safe obliviousness.)
Anyway, maybe this part isn't a simulation?? If that woman said it wasn't? Unless she was lying.... Anything could be anything, or nothing. Peter is in no state of mind to Think Too Deeply or Intelligently about anything, so he's just rolling with it for now and assuming he'll be returning to The City later.... He gives a slow, glossy blink around the place, or what he can even see of it in the darkness, barely suppressing another shudder before his eyes slowly cut back to his mysterious new companion. There's one more lingering question here.
Though he really doesn't want to directly ask... It seems like it could be a question that potentially sets someone off... But if he's about to be eaten (again), it'd almost be better to know as soon as possible. The dread is the worst part of it all, the not-knowing. So he swallows, gathers himself, and, still pressed back a bit to the bookshelf in his fear— ]
Are you uh.... a vampire?
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[ He's staring at the other guy, wondering where the question even came from. He brings a free hand up to his mouth, and tries to feel around his upper molars, though his tusks are getting in the way. Even though he already knows they shouldn't be vampire-like, but--do they look vampire-like? Does this guy think his mouth (that he can totally see) looks vampire-like? ]
Nwoh? [ His hand is muffling his mouth, but he does move it away. ] --I'm a half-orc. I've got tusks. These are tusks. [ He points to the protruding teeth. ] Do I look like a vampire?
[ Are half-orcs vampires to this guy? Is there something else about him screaming vampire? Gorgug's got to know where this question came from, please. ]
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'Do I look like a vampire?' Peter's mouth tips open as he thinks about it, before he has to admit— ]
I uh... I don't know. I've never actually seen one before. I mean, except for in the movies, but apparently real ones just... walk around too.
[ Another pause as he gives a nervous shift. Are half-orcs bloodthirsty, too? Or maybe worse?? Maybe they straight-up eat people whole.... Almost involuntarily, his hand creeps towards his neck, fingertips resting there for a moment. The wounds have healed over, but two small scars can still be seen, even if you have to really look for them now. ]
One bit me. I didn't— I didn't know it was there. I was—
[ ...All weird and out of it. Like he was just moments ago, which brings him back to the other boy asking him about being lost. ]
—Sleepwalking. I do that a lot. I think I was doing it just before, too.
I uh. Guess it makes me a pretty easy target for. Things like that.
[ Vampires. Maybe half-orcs?? Though the boy didn't try to eat him before, so.... Maybe he's cool?? ]
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Basically: Peter's confusion is rubbing off on Gorgug, even if it's not deliberate. He feels more lost the more the other guy speaks. And while someone might infer some implication in the last of his words (that Gorgug might be looking to make him a target), instead: ]
Man, I'm just trying to find a pearl piece? I haven't seen any vampires? [ His tone is quizzical, and there's a squint to his gaze as he tries thinking through this. ] Do you wanna...hang with me, if you're worried about vampires? I mean, I wanna keep finding this piece, but I'll go back to the front desk... at some point...if you wanna be somewhere less...creepy.
But I can stop you from sleep walking off if you...wander off... I guess?
[ Is this even an offer he should be making? Gorgug's not even sure of what he's saying, thinking there's a problem here of this guy wandering off, so- maybe Gorgug can keep an eye on him? Unless he forgets to keep an eye on him. Do either of them even want that? ]
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It stuns him for a long moment, ogling Gorgug. The relentless pounding of his heart isn't quite so relentless anymore, just giving a few lingering fluttered beats, but panic hasn't quite been able to swallow him up. No, this seems... like maybe it's okay? He's not in immediate danger?? And this guy seems pretty okay — there's always the chance it's a trap or something, but this half-orc dude talks a lot like just some normal kid. Maybe this really is okay... ]
Yeah— sure, okay. [ Peter nods after a moment of surprise, and finally, slowly, detaches himself from the bookshelf he'd been trying to assimilate with. It's not a bad idea — in fact... it's actually a really, really helpful one. Who knows when he might zonk out again...? Having someone to watch his back and maybe make sure he doesn't get eaten again would be really nice.... ]
I can uh, help you find the piece, [ he offers in return, since the guy said he did want to keep looking for it. Peter has no idea what's up with this pearl business, but he's down to try, even if he still seems visibly nervous by the whole affair. ]
Thanks. [ He adds, making sure to keep his voice a hush. And then— ] Sorry for freaking you out before. [ Ironic that he's so scared of everyone else when half the time, he's Being Spooky And Weird and others are forced to deal with that. ]
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It doesn't help. And likely wouldn't have helped, even if the toad didn't just shuffle itself back into the same position before Gorgug tried doing anything.
Nevermind. Gorgug's gaze flickers at Peter, and his mouth goes lopsided before he shrugs. ]
It's okay. I wasn't that scared.
[ Said with the tone of something definitely trying to make the other person believe that. He huffs between his tusks, and decides to try placing his Toad Hand nex to his stomach, instead of keeping it held out. ]
So, have you... found a broken pearl shard before? Do you have credentials?
[ You know--credentials? ]
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Oh— no, I haven't found any yet. And to be honest, I've never done anything like this before. [ He has ZERO credentials.... ]
I was never even in the Boy Scouts or anything, [ he adds. Will... a half-orc know what that is? But it's true, he's not really good at things like this.... When was the last time he even left his room and partook in anything, both at home and in The City? ]
Do you think they'll be like, obvious to find? Like maybe glowing or something... It's so damn dark in here.
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If they're--magical, there might be... magical residue, yeah... [ He looks between their toads, magical and emotionally supportive as they are. ] Maybe we should-- put these on the ground? See if they go anywhere? I don't know how to work a magical toad. Or any toad.
[ He's just kinda been carrying it around because he's been waiting for something to happen? And what happened was this guy, so... he doesn't know if that means his toad is broken or not. Probably broken. ]
I can make us some tiny lights if you-- have anything? Like a coin? Something in your pocket?
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[ Peter, slowly regaining A Personality, nods with something that's almost enthusiasm, even if it's all very subtle. He's not one to get enthused much about anything.... But that's a pretty solid plan! These toads have to be used for something, right?
Peter goes ahead and stoops to release his own toad upon the floorboards. The thing sits there, plump and heavy, but maybe it'll start getting into gear soon... Standing back up, he looks back over to the other boy, and fishes in one of his jeans pocket for a moment, fingertips feeling around. There's actually a few odd objects tucked in there, small and unassuming, things that Paimon's nicked...
He pulls out a couple things and sets them on his freed palm, staring down at them with no memory of having acquired them. A pebble... and a small piece of tinfoil, bunched up into a shiny ball... and part of a ribbon. Okay.
Peter holds them up to Gorgug, having no idea how he's going to make lights out of something like this, but at least he has some materials to maybe work with?? ]
Any of this work? I might have a coin in my other pocket if not... Like a dime or something.
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But nothing. He hears Peter rummaging above him, small as the noise is, and gets up instead to see what he's retrieved. Gorgug stares at the selection, like he doesn't know what he's looking at, but then points to the pebble and tinfoil, turning his hand to show his palm. ]
Those two. [ Hello, please deposit them onto his palm. The pebble might be more useful than the tinfoil, but Gorgug wants to see how light interacts with the tinfoil, if it'll refract and give some extra brightness. He just needs the materials on his palm, and then he'll cup his hand over them with both--and after that, he opens back up the space.
The spell is small, simple: magic goes through his hands, and then transfers onto the items. Mathematics is its alignment, and the two items glow against his palm with a bright, five foot spreading light.
Meanwhile, on the floor, Gorgug's toad croaks to the other. Food, or pearl? ]
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....Although as soon as Gorgug opens his cupped hands to reveal that light, Paimon's attention is freshly roused, and Peter's eyes grow wide, wide, wider still — glittering as they reflect back that light now shining from the other's palm.
Magic.
The demon king's drawn to the display like a moth to flame, and Peter goes very quiet, mouth tipped open a little. Gently, his tongue brushes the roof of his mouth, though doesn't yet actually make a sound. He just stands there, as though transfixed, until finally words come, half-whispered, and he doesn't blink. ]
You have magic.
[ (His toad, seeming unconcerned with what's going on above, blinks at its fellow and croaks back its own thoughts on the question at hand: Food.
There are some very tasty bookworms around here... and The Boys seem to be okay right now, with their shiny new light source.) ]
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Meanwhile, on the large people side, Gorgug nods to Peter's observation, and then holds out the pebble, and foil wrapper. ]
I, uh, go to school. I build things and put magic in them, so I'm not-- I'm not your standard wizard.
[ Though he is a wizard.... because someone told him he was. Plenty of someones has, therefore, it has to be correct! ...he's just not the standard kind of wizard, so, it gets hard to explain. ]
I like making tools, [ he adds, looking at Peter. ] Cool shit.
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For now, Peter stares down at the offered items for a few seconds too long, continuing to seem a bit transfixed by them. Then, gently, he reaches to accept them, holding them up and watching the way they cast light right down the aisle, illuminating the way. Nearly half of his mind continues to swirl with one very-fixated demon, but the other half can't help being intrigued by what Gorgug says next, and it helps brings Peter out of Paimon's haze again, blipping through that static. ]
You go to a magic school? Is everyone in your world magic, too?
[ It's so surreal to think about, considering magic isn't a thing where he comes from. Or... not as much of a known thing. He's been magically cursed, or at least he thinks that's what's going on with him, but how the hell that happened, Peter doesn't really know. He starts slowly shuffling down the row, feeling a lot more confident now that there's light. And a bit more confident to keep asking questions, unable to help another one that bubbles up. Maybe some of this is from Paimon, too, who's just as enthralled by the concept of making things. ]
What kinds of tools do you make?
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I make-- weapons, or... Devices, like-- metal helpers, absorption equipment, how to control elements and spells and make them work in things? [ It's always hard to explain, it should be easy by now, but when he glances at Peter, his brow is pulled down, thinking. ]
I made a lasso of light with some help to catch a creature made of darkness-- and I like making... stuff people can use. [ Ughh, this is hard! ] A lot of what I make, I, it's for school, so, we're kinda making a bit of everything, to show we can? But, not everyone is magic. Not everyone...learns magic, so. I can make stuff that uses magic that people can use, sometimes. Without magic.
[ Like the pieces that Peter holds now, even if they won't last, and didn't come in a gadget, but... it's still nice to be able to do for people. ]