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

[aimsforknees]

As long as you promise not to kick my ass too hard.

[ It's said with a knowing smile. There's a good chance Carver is better than him, and John can feel himself being out of practice from time spent here. There's only so much he can do by himself. But he thinks this isn't just a way for Carver to take his measure, and the practice will be good either way. ]

[fortitudosalutis]

[ Carver huffs at that, just a little. ]

Sure, man.

[ He's got a feeling John's no slouch, though. Maybe it'll even be fun. ]

[aimsforknees]

I've been here long enough to get out of practice.

[ He's used to needing to employ his skills almost every day. The Machine rarely gave them days off, which is how he likes it. Here he's not nothing. ]

[fortitudosalutis]

[ Carver does frown at that, briefly. The commander never left them rest long enough to get rusty. That was surely a sin. It's difficult, sometimes, to imagine a world where it isn't so. ]

How long have you been here?

[aimsforknees]

Three months. Three months of nothing. Built a car, searched a library.

[ It hasn't been nice. The library is the only thing keeping him busy these days. His fitness has never been better with all this free time, but to what end? ]

[fortitudosalutis]

Having the library must help.

[ A piece of home. Stability. Carver knows he'd feel better having solid ground to defend. Quietly, he misses his brothers and sisters. If he had them to stand at his shoulder, he'd know what he was supposed to be. ]

[aimsforknees]

[ John takes a breath, thinks about the library. The air inside has changed since it arrived in Etraya, since people started coming in and out, since it started seeing regular care. It's unfamiliar, but he goes into their living space and there is Harold with his computers, typing away, and then he looks up and says "Welcome back, Mr. Reese" and that feels like home. More of a home than he's had in so long. ]

Yeah, but it's different, too. It's abandoned back home. Strange to see people come in and out here, have books to re-shelve.

[fortitudosalutis]

[ That's an important detail, Carver realizes. If the library wasn't open to the public, then John and Harold were using it for their own ends. Abandoned buildings serve well as bases of operations. He wonders if those two have a safe room hidden in there. ]

Why open it here?

[aimsforknees]

It's a library. There's never enough to do in Etraya. We could lock it down but there's no purpose to that and it's suspicious. We blocked off a section where we live and people are curious enough about that.

[ He doesn't feel the need to hide that from Carver. Certainly he and Harold have their fake apartments still, at John's insistence, but it would be easy enough to verify that they haven't been lived in for some time now. If Carver is going to be someone he associates with on a regular basis it would be hard to hide forever. ]

[fortitudosalutis]

[ Truthfully, he hadn't expected John to admit it outright. Carver wonders what that means. He cannot call it trust. That way lies madness and mistakes. He cannot let his guard down around these people. The commander would never allow it.

He twitches. ]

How big a section?

[aimsforknees]

[ That gets a reaction out of Carver, though John isn't entirely sure what it means. He is, however, only willing to go so far with his information. He's sure Carver can do a lot with a little. ]

Just large enough for a comfortable living situation. Separate rooms.

[fortitudosalutis]

[ That's interesting, isn't it? The distinction that John makes. Separate rooms in a comfortable living situation.

Carver watches him close. ]

Comfortable like a barracks? He doesn't strike me as the type for that.

[aimsforknees]

Comfortable by civilian standards.

[ Of course, Harold is much pickier than just a civilian, he's Harold. He buys John hand tailored suits, needless to say his own wardrobe. It's not luxurious, but it's got enough room for Harold to breathe now. Amenities. ]

[fortitudosalutis]

[ Carver narrows his eyes at that, distaste clear. Excess is a sin. It makes people soft, makes them forget the weight of hardship. If you don't know what you can lose, then you won't fight nearly hard enough to keep it. This place could go so wrong so fast. He thinks John knows that, though it's unclear if Harold does. ]

You got supplies stocked up?

[aimsforknees]

[ Carver seems displeased with that. Well, that's too bad. Just because John can make do with less doesn't mean that he should expect the same of Harold. No, if Harold never has to know that kind of life then John will be happy. That's why he'd gotten Harold his suits. He wants to see Harold happy, comfortable. He wants to see Harold drinking his tea, eating a pastry, reclining at his desk. He doesn't want to see Harold in any hardship. That doesn't seem to be how Carver wants to live, for better or for worse. As they discussed before, only time will tell which of them is right. ]

Enough.

[fortitudosalutis]

[ A noncommittal answer. Carver supposes he understands that, respects it to a certain extent. He's trusted enough to be allowed into the library, but not the inner sanctum. Giving anyone the exact toll and location of your supplies is asking to get beaten and robbed of them, or worse. ]

The commander hasn't marked you, [ he says after a moment. ] And you don't have anything I need right now. I got no reason to kill either of you.

[ Not yet, anyway. ]

[aimsforknees]

[ It probably took a lot for Carver to admit that. It's probably his way of making peace. John makes direct eye contact for longer than is comfortable before replying. ]

If you hurt Finch you'll never be able to escape me.

[ It's a threat, but he doesn't phrase it that way. Just a casual statement. There will be no end, no reprieve. It's a double edged sword, with Carver, he's giving Carver a way to hurt him, but Carver would have figured out their relationship sooner or later, it's not something John can hide forever. Better to put it out in the open with someone like Carver. ]

[fortitudosalutis]

[ He just watches John. Unblinking. ]

I like Finch.

[ This is said simply. But he's killed people he liked before. The commander speaks in God's voice. There can be no question, no hesitation. Only ever a reckoning. ]

Do you think God loves him?

[aimsforknees]

[ John thinks about how Harold holds himself so stiffly, how he staggers a bit when he gets up from sitting for too long, how laborious it can be for him to walk down the street. How he has so many names, so many aliases, more than John even knows. How John never found where he lives. How he left Grace just because he thought he would get her killed some day. How he faked his own death. How the only person John has seen him interact with outside of work is Nathan Ingram's son, who left.

Does god love Harold? ]

No.

[ But John does. And John might not be god, but he will do everything in his power to make sure that Harold doesn't suffer any more than he has to from now on. ]

[fortitudosalutis]

That’s too bad.

[ God loves Leah Shaw and that’s why He spared her. Carver holds that truth in his heart, more dear to him than his own soul. He watches John with a distant sort of melancholy. They’ll kill each other in the end, he thinks. ]

But he’s got you. Maybe that’s enough.

[aimsforknees]

I'll make sure it's enough.

[ He will. He will go to whatever length is necessary to protect Harold. To keep him alive and happy. He will spend his points on Harold's suits, he will make him dinner, he will do whatever it takes. When Harold says John should get his own suits, John will. He'll help feed his baby bird. All of it. Just for Harold. ]

[fortitudosalutis]

That's something.

[ He tilts his head back and finishes his glass. He's edging onto the warm, heavy feeling of drunk now; a reprieve from all his racing thoughts. Maybe he'll be able to sleep tonight. He watches John for a moment and thinks, I'll kill you quickly if it comes to that. Out of respect.

He doesn't say it. Even with the alcohol warming his soul, he knows better. ]

[aimsforknees]

[ John isn't trying to get Carver drunk, but he is trying to show that he doesn't need to hold back, so he offers the bottle of whiskey again. John is almost done with his glass but doesn't seem in a rush to refill it; one is good enough for tonight. That's the goal he'd set for himself back home and it seems right to stick to it now. ]

[fortitudosalutis]

[ There are rules, still. Carver eyes the bottle with a quiet sort of longing, but shakes his head. Pope wouldn't have liked him getting wasted, no matter how badly Carver wants to sleep without dreaming for once. Leah wouldn't have stood for it, either. How many times did she bail him out of the drunk tank before the world ended?

No, he won't disappoint her again. Even if she's not here to witness it, Carver has a feeling in his soul that she'd know somehow if she laid eyes on him. That she'll be taking his measure, perhaps even finding him wanting. ]

I should head back.

[aimsforknees]

[ John retracts his silent offer and provides a verbal one. ]

Want company?

[ Carver has admitted as much to not drinking much and he's had three glasses. What John is offering is the company of someone who knows how to be sharp, watch for things in the shadows, be a more sober set of eyes for Carver. ]