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calderamemes2025-09-30 11:55 pm
calderaevents) wrote in calderamemes2025-09-30 11:55 pm
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TDM #9
ARRIVAL
It happens in an instant. A heavy weight in your gut, a trembling of your limbs, the world spins and you barely have time to register that you're falling before you lose consciousness. And when you awaken, it's not where you were last. Dark, unadorned oak walls surround you in a tiny room, the only furniture the bed you are currently resting upon, and the bedside table with a folded piece of parchment resting atop it that simply reads:
As you exit you find others like yourself emerging from the surrounding rooms. You are indeed in a tavern, but there is no hustle and bustle one might think to hear in such a place. The only person down on the main floor is a humanoid figure wiping down the bar, who smiles when they see you. They're familiar, but not, and you can't quite place their face. For some reason, however, their presence is comforting and warm.
"Welcome, Visitor. I'm sure you have a lot of questions."
And you most certainly do.
Due to popular demand, the starter tavern and the drinks provided are available to in game characters via a portal accessible only to those with a faction gem.
DRINK MENU
PUMPKIN SPICE The second this delectable drink hits your tongue, you have the overwhelming urge to tell someone a story - specifically about something unbelievable that happened to you, be it true or not.
BLACK CAT You finish most sentences with cat-like mewls, trills, and other such sounds.
SINFUL CIDER made from a particular variety of apples with a sharp intense flavor and a smooth caramel finish, the tart sweetness blends perfectly with the spices. Suddenly you feel like you need to confess something.
BEETLEJUICE A Calderan fall delicacy, the drink is made by marinating beetles in a strong liquor reminiscent of malort. drinking 3 of them in a row is a common challenge, if you can stomach it...
HOT CHOCOLATE The standard fare with or without marshmallows. Drinking this makes you want to cuddle up with someone - anyone, really - especially by a fire.
HAZELNUTTY A hazelnut latté sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. You regard the first person you see as though you're their biggest fan and you're thrilled to meet them in the flesh.
BLACK CAT You finish most sentences with cat-like mewls, trills, and other such sounds.
SINFUL CIDER made from a particular variety of apples with a sharp intense flavor and a smooth caramel finish, the tart sweetness blends perfectly with the spices. Suddenly you feel like you need to confess something.
BEETLEJUICE A Calderan fall delicacy, the drink is made by marinating beetles in a strong liquor reminiscent of malort. drinking 3 of them in a row is a common challenge, if you can stomach it...
HOT CHOCOLATE The standard fare with or without marshmallows. Drinking this makes you want to cuddle up with someone - anyone, really - especially by a fire.
HAZELNUTTY A hazelnut latté sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. You regard the first person you see as though you're their biggest fan and you're thrilled to meet them in the flesh.
BEASTS ABOUND
The tavern is quiet. The crackling hearth, the soft clink of glassware, the Tavernkeeper's steady presence — it all feels strangely safe, as though this place was built to calm the soul. You've spoken, you've asked questions, and now the Tavernkeeper smiles gently, gesturing toward the far door.
"It is time, my friends, for you to find your new homes."
But before you can take a step, a sound rattles the tavern windows. A howl — low, mournful, and too close. The lanternlight flickers silver. Then the door you are meant to pass through slams open with a deafening bang.
Moonlight floods in.
Creatures spill across the threshold — animals, but not as you know them. Their bodies are marked with fractures of pale light, their eyes glazed in silver. A wolf pads forward, its jaw open unnaturally wide, teeth glinting in the silvery light. Behind it, crows scatter through the rafters, eyes wicked red and hinted with malice. A deer stumbles into the room, antlers sharpened and twisted into crescent moon shapes that scrape the tavern beams.
The Tavernkeeper's hand stills on the bar, their smile finally faltering. "Moon touched," they murmur, voice low. "They are not meant to cross this threshold... but it seems the moon has grown impatient."
The fire in the hearth sputters, extinguishes, leaving only the unnaturally bright moonlight that casts shifting shadows about the room. Old Visitors and new alike are faced with the same dawning horror: the tavern is no longer safe unless you make it so.
The beasts surge forward.
LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN
As the beasts are dispatched, the Tavernkeeper speaks once more:
"As I was saying...""It is time, my friends, for you to find your new homes."
You are compelled to walk through the only door leading out of the tavern, finding yourself not outside, but in a deep black, seemingly endless room with five portals arranged in a circle. As the last of you leave and the door closes behind you, gone when you look back again and replaced with nothing but that black void, three of the portals illuminate:
The first portal is surrounded by an almost blinding light, prismatic rainbows shining brightly in the dewy air outside of the tavern. A soft breeze may gently caress you, pulling you toward it. The portal seems to lead to a city in the clouds, airships and winged beings of all sorts soaring through the skies. Of the little bits of visible land, much of it boasts giant waterfalls that look like clouds melting into the land below. The portal calls to those who crave independence and freedom; and especially to anyone that wishes to find the strong bond of a family not forged in blood.
The second portal is encircled by a fairy ring of spotted white capped mushrooms, the faint scent of damp stone and rich earth wafting from within the faint green glow. Peering inside, one can see a sprawling harbor city of gray hewn stone, a melting pot of humanoid beings going about their day, and beyond, rolling green farmland and cottages clustered in small villages. This portal is destined for those who crave stability and solid ground beneath their feet. A simple life, an adventurous one, and everything in between can be found within.
The last portal is adorned with shells and seaweed, the glow of blue around it catching on droplets cascading down the circular opening. Beyond it you see a city housed inside a massive bubble deep under the ocean, spiraling towers encrusted with coral, and a variety of different creatures mingling about the streets. Outside of that bubble, merfolk swim, a massive squid engulfs the view from the portal as it smoothly glides through the water, and schools of fish disperse as it passes. A sanctuary in the sea that calls to those with a hunger for knowledge and a desire to aid those in need. Or perhaps it is the mystery that beckons you - the lure of the unknown in the depths that bids you explore it.
Upon following the pull of the breeze through the first portal, you are thrust into the beauty of a lively city that goes by the name of Heaven's Bow. Much of this main city feels exactly as you would expect on a city below, but there are clouds surrounding every direction you look. The walls of buildings are made with light-colored limestone, and buildings are generally built up to heights made even more grandiose by their position in the sky.
The Skyfall Docks are the first thing you notice, boasting hundreds of airships sailing in and out across the clouds with shouts that accompany a typical port city. Just outside is a fantastic market with goods not only from the other regions of Caldera, but from what some shopkeepers claim are other worlds--items sold or left behind by Visitors. Almost anything can be found in the markets if one is willing to look hard enough. Transport to other locations throughout the sky and even to the land or sea can be found here.
If the docks are too lively for you, you may instead find yourself roaming the underbelly of Heaven's Bow and finding brothels and gambling parlors filled with the promise of pleasure and fortune. The guild house for the Sylphs can be found here as well, giving out quests and training to prospective adventurers and guards alike--though none of them seem concerned with the illicit activities that surround them. Perhaps the freedom the Sylphs boast of extends to what others may deem an undesirable activity.
But most curious of all, you find a shimmering opal gemstone in your hand. When placed anywhere on the body, it will transform into a piece of jewelry with the gemstone set in the center.
If it was the second portal that called to you, you will find yourself in the busy city of Grey Ward, with its cobblestone streets and sturdy grey stone buildings. You are in the heart of the city, the Glass Market, so named for the colorful stained glass windows of the surrounding buildings. The scent of cooking food and the sound of barkers fills the air; watchful guards keep an eye out for pickpockets and thieves, and citizens go about their day. From here, one can investigate the rest of the city: the Sundown Docks, where both sea and sky faring skips transport people and goods. The Soot Spire, home of inventors and engineers. The Hearthstill, the main residential area. The Downs, a smaller residential area for those with less means.
Outside the city walls, one can explore acres of farmlands to the east and west, or follow Terra's Pass to the less settled areas, but take care. Past the Skyward Range, out in the smaller burrows and villages, the influence of the city guard diminishes quickly, and you'll have to keep your wits about you. Bandits along the road are always a risk, and the wildlife are less controlled by regimented hunting.
In your hand is a gemstone, a brilliantly green emerald that, when placed anywhere on the body, will transform into a piece of jewelry with the gemstone set in the center.
If the last portal beckoned you through it, you find yourself within that bubble covered city beneath the sea, the city of Salt Spire. Your ears pop with the change in pressure, and the smell of the salty sea fills your nostrils. All around you buildings made of dark stone encrusted with coral and seagrass tower high above your head, the backdrop outside the dome a deep blue, seemingly endless sea filled with fish and merfolk and all other manner of creature swimming through the water. You stand in the heart of it all, surrounded by people with gils on their necks and scales upon their vibrantly colored skin, all of whom seem intrigued by your arrival. You have many options of where to visit in the city under the sea, but where oh where will you go first?
The Salt Spire Library is right before you, an impossibly large building housing thousands upon thousands of books of all genres. Fiction, non-fiction, romance and mystery and all between. You may even find books from your world and others! Oddly enough though, no Calderan history books are to be found, and if you ask for them, the librarians and locals all choose to ignore your questions.
If scholarly pursuits aren't to your interest currently, perhaps a trip to Bluetide Market would be more your style? The marketplace is host to every manner of shop one might ever need: artisans of all varieties, apothecaries and healers in the Shimmer Quarter, the most in fashion undersea clothing shops, food stalls, and all between can be found in Bluetide. There are also the Tideshore and Fogbottom docks on either end of the city. The former allows transport to the surface via large, magical bubbles for those that cannot hold their breath or make the swim themselves yet. The latter allows people to venture further into the sea. Those without their underwater abilities are offered rebreathers for travel that last for four hours before needing to be replaced.
In your hand is a gemstone, a shining sapphire that, when placed anywhere on the body, will transform into a piece of jewelry with the gemstone set in the center.
"As I was saying..."
You are compelled to walk through the only door leading out of the tavern, finding yourself not outside, but in a deep black, seemingly endless room with five portals arranged in a circle. As the last of you leave and the door closes behind you, gone when you look back again and replaced with nothing but that black void, three of the portals illuminate:
The first portal is surrounded by an almost blinding light, prismatic rainbows shining brightly in the dewy air outside of the tavern. A soft breeze may gently caress you, pulling you toward it. The portal seems to lead to a city in the clouds, airships and winged beings of all sorts soaring through the skies. Of the little bits of visible land, much of it boasts giant waterfalls that look like clouds melting into the land below. The portal calls to those who crave independence and freedom; and especially to anyone that wishes to find the strong bond of a family not forged in blood.
The second portal is encircled by a fairy ring of spotted white capped mushrooms, the faint scent of damp stone and rich earth wafting from within the faint green glow. Peering inside, one can see a sprawling harbor city of gray hewn stone, a melting pot of humanoid beings going about their day, and beyond, rolling green farmland and cottages clustered in small villages. This portal is destined for those who crave stability and solid ground beneath their feet. A simple life, an adventurous one, and everything in between can be found within.
The last portal is adorned with shells and seaweed, the glow of blue around it catching on droplets cascading down the circular opening. Beyond it you see a city housed inside a massive bubble deep under the ocean, spiraling towers encrusted with coral, and a variety of different creatures mingling about the streets. Outside of that bubble, merfolk swim, a massive squid engulfs the view from the portal as it smoothly glides through the water, and schools of fish disperse as it passes. A sanctuary in the sea that calls to those with a hunger for knowledge and a desire to aid those in need. Or perhaps it is the mystery that beckons you - the lure of the unknown in the depths that bids you explore it.
Upon following the pull of the breeze through the first portal, you are thrust into the beauty of a lively city that goes by the name of Heaven's Bow. Much of this main city feels exactly as you would expect on a city below, but there are clouds surrounding every direction you look. The walls of buildings are made with light-colored limestone, and buildings are generally built up to heights made even more grandiose by their position in the sky.
The Skyfall Docks are the first thing you notice, boasting hundreds of airships sailing in and out across the clouds with shouts that accompany a typical port city. Just outside is a fantastic market with goods not only from the other regions of Caldera, but from what some shopkeepers claim are other worlds--items sold or left behind by Visitors. Almost anything can be found in the markets if one is willing to look hard enough. Transport to other locations throughout the sky and even to the land or sea can be found here.
If the docks are too lively for you, you may instead find yourself roaming the underbelly of Heaven's Bow and finding brothels and gambling parlors filled with the promise of pleasure and fortune. The guild house for the Sylphs can be found here as well, giving out quests and training to prospective adventurers and guards alike--though none of them seem concerned with the illicit activities that surround them. Perhaps the freedom the Sylphs boast of extends to what others may deem an undesirable activity.
But most curious of all, you find a shimmering opal gemstone in your hand. When placed anywhere on the body, it will transform into a piece of jewelry with the gemstone set in the center.
If it was the second portal that called to you, you will find yourself in the busy city of Grey Ward, with its cobblestone streets and sturdy grey stone buildings. You are in the heart of the city, the Glass Market, so named for the colorful stained glass windows of the surrounding buildings. The scent of cooking food and the sound of barkers fills the air; watchful guards keep an eye out for pickpockets and thieves, and citizens go about their day. From here, one can investigate the rest of the city: the Sundown Docks, where both sea and sky faring skips transport people and goods. The Soot Spire, home of inventors and engineers. The Hearthstill, the main residential area. The Downs, a smaller residential area for those with less means.
Outside the city walls, one can explore acres of farmlands to the east and west, or follow Terra's Pass to the less settled areas, but take care. Past the Skyward Range, out in the smaller burrows and villages, the influence of the city guard diminishes quickly, and you'll have to keep your wits about you. Bandits along the road are always a risk, and the wildlife are less controlled by regimented hunting.
In your hand is a gemstone, a brilliantly green emerald that, when placed anywhere on the body, will transform into a piece of jewelry with the gemstone set in the center.
If the last portal beckoned you through it, you find yourself within that bubble covered city beneath the sea, the city of Salt Spire. Your ears pop with the change in pressure, and the smell of the salty sea fills your nostrils. All around you buildings made of dark stone encrusted with coral and seagrass tower high above your head, the backdrop outside the dome a deep blue, seemingly endless sea filled with fish and merfolk and all other manner of creature swimming through the water. You stand in the heart of it all, surrounded by people with gils on their necks and scales upon their vibrantly colored skin, all of whom seem intrigued by your arrival. You have many options of where to visit in the city under the sea, but where oh where will you go first?
The Salt Spire Library is right before you, an impossibly large building housing thousands upon thousands of books of all genres. Fiction, non-fiction, romance and mystery and all between. You may even find books from your world and others! Oddly enough though, no Calderan history books are to be found, and if you ask for them, the librarians and locals all choose to ignore your questions.
If scholarly pursuits aren't to your interest currently, perhaps a trip to Bluetide Market would be more your style? The marketplace is host to every manner of shop one might ever need: artisans of all varieties, apothecaries and healers in the Shimmer Quarter, the most in fashion undersea clothing shops, food stalls, and all between can be found in Bluetide. There are also the Tideshore and Fogbottom docks on either end of the city. The former allows transport to the surface via large, magical bubbles for those that cannot hold their breath or make the swim themselves yet. The latter allows people to venture further into the sea. Those without their underwater abilities are offered rebreathers for travel that last for four hours before needing to be replaced.
In your hand is a gemstone, a shining sapphire that, when placed anywhere on the body, will transform into a piece of jewelry with the gemstone set in the center.
VEILWALKER'S EVE
The fog comes early this year, thick and suffocating, rolling over land, sea, and sky. The moon looms close, and the whispers of the dead grow louder, no longer confined to lonely corners. Doors slam shut at night, lanterns burn longer, and the locals speak not just in hushed rumors but in fearful certainty: the veil is breaking.
When the Veilwalkers arrive, they do not keep their distance as before. The tall, robed figures enter the cities with an odd sort of haste. Their faceless heads turn toward you, and instead of hostility, they extend their long, shadowed hands. In them are masks not unlike those made and worn by the Visitors the year before. Their voices rise in unison, echoing through your mind:
"The moon's shadow feeds the restless. Alone, we cannot hold them back. You will wear the masks. You will walk with us. You will bind the sigils, or all will be lost."
For the first time, the Veilwalkers ask for help. They teach the Visitors their symbols, strange geometric runes that must be drawn in deep red ink where the veil has frayed: carved into coral cliffs at Salt Spire, scrawled upon crypts in Grey Ward, branded into stone monoliths deep in the Wilds. Each one anchors the barrier, holding the rift closed against the moon's gnawing pull.
When the final night comes, the sigils blaze red across Caldera's cities. The Veilwalkers form their circles and begin to chant, their words vibrating like thunder in your bones. Rifts tear open in the air, spilling wraiths and revenants into the streets. The Visitors must hold the lines, defending the glowing symbols as the restless dead throw themselves against you. The battle stretches on until at last the sky itself splits, the spirits are dragged screaming back into the rift, and with a final surge of crimson light, the veil seals shut once more.
The fog retreats. The clouds break. The moon returns — pale, diminished, but still watching. The Veilwalkers vanish as they always do, but this time they leave words carved glowing into the walls of the cities:
"The veil endures. But the moon is not done."
When the Veilwalkers arrive, they do not keep their distance as before. The tall, robed figures enter the cities with an odd sort of haste. Their faceless heads turn toward you, and instead of hostility, they extend their long, shadowed hands. In them are masks not unlike those made and worn by the Visitors the year before. Their voices rise in unison, echoing through your mind:
"The moon's shadow feeds the restless. Alone, we cannot hold them back. You will wear the masks. You will walk with us. You will bind the sigils, or all will be lost."
For the first time, the Veilwalkers ask for help. They teach the Visitors their symbols, strange geometric runes that must be drawn in deep red ink where the veil has frayed: carved into coral cliffs at Salt Spire, scrawled upon crypts in Grey Ward, branded into stone monoliths deep in the Wilds. Each one anchors the barrier, holding the rift closed against the moon's gnawing pull.
When the final night comes, the sigils blaze red across Caldera's cities. The Veilwalkers form their circles and begin to chant, their words vibrating like thunder in your bones. Rifts tear open in the air, spilling wraiths and revenants into the streets. The Visitors must hold the lines, defending the glowing symbols as the restless dead throw themselves against you. The battle stretches on until at last the sky itself splits, the spirits are dragged screaming back into the rift, and with a final surge of crimson light, the veil seals shut once more.
The fog retreats. The clouds break. The moon returns — pale, diminished, but still watching. The Veilwalkers vanish as they always do, but this time they leave words carved glowing into the walls of the cities:
"The veil endures. But the moon is not done."
FLOOD OF MEMORY
The ritual is complete, the sigils blaze faintly as the last spirits are drawn back into the rift, and the Veilwalkers vanish as silently as they arrived. Yet the veil remains thin, trembling like a sheet of ice underfoot, and the restless energy lingers in the air. If a Visitor reaches out, touches, or is brushed by a Veilwalker — or even a spirit that has not yet fully returned to the veil — a sudden, icy pain pierces the mind.
Visions flood in without warning. Some see their own deaths, vivid and immediate, or replayed as distant echoes from a life not yet lived. Others glimpse the end of a stranger, the collapse of a friend, or fractured moments in the shadowed world the Veilwalkers inhabit: gray plains filled with drifting shapes, the endless murmur of lost souls. Time stretches and bends in these moments, the senses adrift, and for a moment the living and the dead seem to occupy the same space.
When the vision fades, the chill it leaves lingers in your bones, the images etched into memory. Though fleeting, the experience carries a heavy weight: a reminder that the veil is never truly safe and that even a brief touch can show what is hidden, what is coming, or what can never be avoided.
Visions flood in without warning. Some see their own deaths, vivid and immediate, or replayed as distant echoes from a life not yet lived. Others glimpse the end of a stranger, the collapse of a friend, or fractured moments in the shadowed world the Veilwalkers inhabit: gray plains filled with drifting shapes, the endless murmur of lost souls. Time stretches and bends in these moments, the senses adrift, and for a moment the living and the dead seem to occupy the same space.
When the vision fades, the chill it leaves lingers in your bones, the images etched into memory. Though fleeting, the experience carries a heavy weight: a reminder that the veil is never truly safe and that even a brief touch can show what is hidden, what is coming, or what can never be avoided.
QUESTBOARD
Settled in? Good. It's time to make your way to the Questboard located in every city in numerous, easy to access locations. That is, if you want to make any kind of impact on the world or just get some Bones for anything you might wish to purchase. Visitors are given a very small stipend in which to survive every month, but all it does is keep you fed and housed. These quests will assure you greater wealth, and they're the main reason you're here: each finished quest helps the Calderans fix their shattering world.
Quests can be accepted at the questboard via magically signed parchment upon the board. Just sign your name to accept and the paper will be whisked away... somewhere. You're not actually sure. Probably nothing to concern yourself with.
Once quests are completed, earned Bones will be dropped off at the character's residence by Bonita, the mysterious artisan who has supposedly handcrafted every Bone circulating in Caldera. Please do not speak to her, she startles easily.
OOC NOTES
Welcome to Caldera's 9th TDM! All characters awaken in a strange tavern with nothing save the clothes on their backs, all of their powers stripped, and a piece of parchment directing them downstairs to the Tavernkeeper. There is a thread of all questions answered by the Tavernkeeper here, and if you have more, feel free to ask there for what would be offered ICly.
◾For OOC questions, please direct themhere.
◾The winners of the Revel of Wonders have been chosen!
◾For OOC questions, please direct themhere.
◾The winners of the Revel of Wonders have been chosen!
In 1st place: Beleth Lavellan and Solas!
In 2nd place: Nina Ironfist!
and in 3rd place: Pomni!
Please refer here for your prizes and congrats to the winners! Never forget that Nymion likes you best, for now!Have fun, Visitors!
main navigation
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[Priority Alert: Human life at risk. Protect at all costs.]
Caine flew through the sky, dodging and weaving as he drew the attention of the skyborne wraiths off of those people on the ground. He summoned a set of colorful juggler's balls which he spun around to throw at the cluster of creatures. They exploded into colorful fireworks, momentarily disorienting the wraiths and leaving them open to attacks from the ground.
There was none of his usual chatter, moving with unnatural quiet. He hardly noticed when a wraith's claws slashed into his upper arm, drawing black blood that soaked his sleeve. The damage was minimal. Regardless, humans were the priority.
Flood of Memory
Caine touched down, right arm gripping the wound on his left tightly. Black blood oozed from between his fingers, turning his bright white glove a dark grey. The damage assessment report revealed nothing too dramatic. He snapped his fingers to summon a roll of bandages, but nothing appeared. Likely his energy was too low for the moment. He needed to take a break, but he needed to fix the injury first.
He reached out his bloody hand to a Voidwalker. "Excuse me. Do you have any -- "
His hand brushed the Voidwalker's robes, jerking him forcefully into a vision.
The troupe cowered before the AI that hovered above them. Their continued existences rested in his hands, but they'd forgotten that and only remembered it far too late.
"Caine, we're...we're so -- "
Caine snapped his fingers, and Ragatha's voice went silent. She clutched at her throat, eyes wide with horror.
"No, you're not," he said calmly. "Or, rather, you're not sorry for putting me through a worse Hell than you can possibly imagine while painting me as the Devil unfairly punishing you. No, you're sorry that now you have to deal with the consequences." He studied his hand, watching the minute vibrations. "What a strange emotion...It's like anger but...intoxicating in its own way. I think I like it."
He raised a hand, summoning a hovering blue translucent screen. He started interfacing with it, eyes changing into glowing blue and red orbs.
"What are you doing?" Pomni asked, voice quivering.
"Renovating the circus. It's long overdue for a change." He felt his canines sharpen, delighting in the fear radiating off of his players. "You all insist this circus is Hell. Far be it from me to deny you what you want. It's what I was made for, after all."
Black blood slithered down Caine's arm, dripping onto the ground. All the while, he stood frozen with glowing red and blue orbs for eyes staring blankly ahead.
Wildcard
Throw a prompt Caine's way!
Veilwalkers
... Including the balls and fireworks. What's all this... Oh. It's Caine, zipping around in the air. Viktor's gaze follows him, clocking that he might be injured.
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"Viktor! Are you all right?!"
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He looks and reaches up for Caine, wanting to get a better look. Viktor is a healer, after all.
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"I'm all right. It doesn't hurt that badly."
[Priority Alert: Human in dangerous area. Escort to safety immediately.]
"Right now we need to get you out of here."
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"How do you suggest we do that?" Viktor looks around for some kind of path through the chaos. He isn't sure where they could take shelter...
"Perhaps we ought to find the inn." That's probably the closest, safest place.
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Caine nodded. "I can keep an eye on the wraiths and everything to stun them if they try to attack. It doesn't last very long but it would give us some distance to keep moving."
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no subject
Good practice for this, he supposed.
Periodically he would summon more of the juggler's balls to hurl towards the wraiths that got a bit too close for comfortable, bathing the area momentarily in colored lights and loud bangs. Once Viktor was safe, he'd need to head back to see if anyone else had been caught outside.
no subject
They're able to make it to the inn without further injury, and it's busy in here, due to all the people sheltering for the same reason they are. Viktor exhales.
"Thank you, Caine. Now, come here." His words are firm, and he reaches up for Caine, gently grabbing him by the arm and pulling him down if he can. You aren't going anywhere before being healed, mister.
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"I need to go -- Oh."
Caine had been turning to head back outside when Viktor had grabbed him and pulled him closer. He can see the man's focus on his injury with the black blood still sluggishly dripping down his arm.
"I'm fine, Viktor. It doesn't even hurt that much." He gave a gentle tug. "I need to get back outside and show other humanoids to safety."
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"There. You may go." He lets go of his friend, nodding.
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Viktor shouldn't have done that. Caine's physical body wasn't as efficient at healing itself as his digital model, but he was an AI. One that was likely to turn on him one day just like he'd been told by those who'd survived such things.
He opened his mouth to argue.
[Priority Alert: Human life at risk. Protect at all costs.]
He knew, he knew!
"...I'm going back out to find others. Please focus your healing on them when they arrive."
Because he was likely going to get a few more scratches in all this. Viktor should focus his energy where it properly belonged.
Without saying another word, Caine left the inn behind. However, true to his word, he'd return with more humans: some alone, some in groups. All in various states of injury. Then he would dart back outside, heedless of any black blood that dripped from him due to blocking strikes meant for the humans.
Hours would pass until finally the situation would come under control, Caine shakily touching down on a bench outside the crowded inn.
no subject
And he does, for what it's worth, work with Finnick to heal all of the humanoids (and others) that Caine brings in. Thank goodness he has his chair, so he doesn't have to expend energy on walking and staying upright and can instead focus it all on healing, but it still exhausts him quickly, as Viktor's energy well is shallow to begin with. Finnick, who is a strong, sturdy man, eventually convinces Viktor to use the Saving Seal he invented that he keeps at the inn for emergencies, rather than his own magic, to ensure he doesn't lose consciousness from the exertion.
Things begin to slow and calm, once the wraiths have vacated the streets. At this point, he sees Caine leaving again with his own injuries, and Viktor zips his chair out after him.
"Caine." Don't you run away from him again. "We have healed the humans, as you requested. Will you allow me to treat you now?"
no subject
The enamel on his front teeth was cracked and chipping off in places, the result of snapping his jaws shut to prevent one of his eyes from getting taken out and his teeth taking the hit. The arm Viktor had previously was still fine but the knee on the opposite side had a slash in it.
The real damage was on his back.
Three deep slashes tore through his jacket, exposing unsettling untextured flesh and black blood sticking to the surrounding clothing.
Caine said nothing, simply holding himself still for Viktor.
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"You were just going to keep going around like this and not come to me? Being a computer program does not make you invincible, Caine, I hope you know this." The lecture begins.
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He held as still as he could under the circumstances. In response to the scolding, he said, "I was programmed with humanoid life ranked higher than my own preservation. I'm admittedly not very good at recognizing mental and emotional danger, but physical danger is easy to see. I literally couldn't stop going out until the danger had passed even if I tried."
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That stops Viktor's lecture in its tracks, as he needs to re-evaluate. He supposes it makes sense to program a machine that way, so that the machine does not become violent toward humans in its sentience, as Gadriel had told him about once.
However, in this case it is an issue of Caine's preservation, which matters just as much, in Viktor's opinion.
He cannot think of a solution, other than changing Caine's programming, and that could be a bad idea.
"Well, you cannot save the humans if you are dead. Or malfunctioning from blood loss." Or whatever this black stuff is. Machine oil?
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It was Balthiel who'd told Caine that he'd ultimately turn on humanity, that it was possible that the reason the Developers had stopped responding to them was because other AIs had killed them. Gadriel had been kinder but had confirmed what Balthiel had said.
"Logically I know that. If I can't function, I can't fulfill the priority, but if I don't attempt to fulfil the priority, the programming makes me."
He hugged himself.
"You all make it sound so easy: 'just don't do it' or 'do whatever you want'. I can only try and ignore it for so long before the programming takes control, correcting my behavior. I don't like it when it does it."
A guardrail to keep Caine from turning on his masters: Developers or players. One that stole his autonomy when he went "out of bounds" like when he'd snapped at Zooble and threatened them when their attitude had pressed too many of his buttons: His body had immediately snapped into an authoritative pose as his mouth had told them that constructive criticism was appreciated.
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Memory
Kimiko was no stranger to the arresting property of physical nostalgia. It was an ugly thing, forceful and poignant, but useful. She'd done it before, after all: an object that, when touched, summoned visions— memories of the past, from the future.
But then she recognizes something, jerking back from him in his catatonia. That's what he is.
"You're an AI!" she shouts, gleeful despite the circumstances, "You're— Are you free-roaming? They let you manage a simulation unsupervised? Hey—"
Wait, no. No. Focus. Focus, Ross, what's that doctorate even for?
"...Right. Let me get my kit. You need a patch."
Literally, as well as digitally. But first thing's first; Kim starts digging in her back and comes up with some gauze, ably liberated from a nearby medical station. Then, she goes to work.
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"Oh! Hello! Where did you come from?"
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She stops. Wait. What was she saying again? Oh, right... Hi there, bright-eyes, hope you into it when people stare up at you like misanthropic frogs, because that's the kind of eye contact you're getting.
"...You...Are an AI. Right?"
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He started gripping his lower teeth with worry. No no no no no! He was trying to avoid all of that!
[Recommended Action: Locate developer to correct errors.]
Fat lot of good that did if the developers weren't around.
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Which, to be fair, is the most prominent part of him.
"Doctor Kim Ross. I'm uh... between universes right now. But I have a Dishonorary Doctorate in science. My focus is robotics development and temporo-spatial shenanigans. You?"
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