calderamemes | TDM #1: WELCOME VISITORS

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TDM #1: WELCOME VISITORS

TDM #1

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:

“The Tavernkeeper is awaiting your arrival downstairs.”

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.

SIT, STAY A WHILE

The Tavernkeeper offers more than just answers. This is a tavern after all, and what is a tavern without drinks?

"I know just what you need." They say, giving you little time to reply before some manner of drink (alcoholic or not) is set before you.

DRINK MENU

PEOPLE SKILLS: A deceptively simple looking cocktail that when imbibed makes one feel very social. Time to make friends and influence people!

A SPOT OF COURAGE: a tasty concoction so nice on the tongue it loosens it up. You suddenly want to reveal something about yourself!

SKY HIGH: a fizzy blue drink billowing with white smoke and served with a lemon slice as a garnish. It has been known to make the drinker giggly and sometimes even float a few feet off the ground.

CRYING FROG: a swirling bright green drink that makes you want to cry - or is it something else about this place that just makes you want to tear up…

SHARING IS CARING: a large, delicious frozen concoction that comes with two straws. You can't finish it alone! (No, like, you quite literally can't finish it alone.)

52 PICKUP: It's just whiskey. But for some reason it really puts you in the mood for cards, or a game of mahjong, maybe a couple rounds of checkers

QUICKSAND: The thickest chocolate milkshake you've ever had. The flavour is rich and delicious, but it moves like concrete. Sucking it up the straw takes effort. Makes the drinker mellow and lethargic. It's all good, man. Don't worry, be happy.

BEER: Beer? I thought you said bear! (animal transformation)

SEX ON THE BEACH: literally just sex on the beach, but also an aphrodisiac. Have fun! (The rooms upstairs are still open, for the record…)

CHOOSE YOUR DESTINY

As the effects of your drink wear off, the Tavernkeeper speaks once more:

”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.

A NEW NORMAL

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.

Visitors in all starter cities are offered a standard home with basic necessities provided (your choice in design, etc.) that can house 1-4 people if they so choose. Home upgrades can be purchased via rewards.

THE 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

Welcome to Caldera's first 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 them here.

All locations are available to be explored! Please mind that it is an active work in progress and will hopefully be finalized by June 8th.

We are looking at an opening date of July 1st with reserves opening on June 28th and and applications on opening day.

The TDM is game canon and all completed quests can be carried over once accepted into the game.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

“Is that a bad thing?” She asked, a touch huffily but it was softened by a little laugh that followed right on the heel of her twinge of irritation. Sometimes it felt like he enjoyed poking at her and probably everyone around him. Focusing on the cards, she hummed as she nodded. “I think so. What are we playing for?”

He did, in fact, enjoy poking at her, specifically. "Spend less money gettin' drunk, I reckon," he replied, lips twitching. He reached into his coat pocket and set a handful of caps on the table. "Since we was provided with cards, but no chips. Worthless trash here anyway." The Ghoul was a little curious of 'bones' meant actual bones. Supposed he'd find out eventually, he'd always been good at making money.

"I don't think I have any of those," Lucy pursed her lips briefly before shrugging because they could figure it out. She looked at her cards with much the same look like she was trying to figure them out as well. She was also curious about the 'bones' that were meant to be a currency in this place as much as she was curious about everything else. "We should go look around after this."

"Good news," the Ghoul replied, taking out another handful and setting it down in front of her. "Now you do." He took a quick peek at his card, then tossed in a couple caps. Assuming she matched his opening bet, he turned three cards face up between them: queen of Hearts, five of diamonds, four of clubs. "Look around what, Vaultie? Near as I can tell ain't nothin' outside but a sudden drop. You wanna scout out the buildin'?"

She flashed him a brief smile, almost as a way of saying 'thank you' when he placed some more caps in front of her. She watched as he tossed in a couple of caps before doing the same, tilting her head to the side when he turned three cards face up. "I don't know but there has to be something to see. We can't really help a world just by staying here."

Then she nodded, glancing at him. "Let's scout out the building."

The Ghoul tapped his gloved fingers lightly atop the two facedown cards in front of him, took a peek at them, then tossed a couple more caps in. "Tell you what, Vaultie," he drawled, picking up his whiskey and draining a healthy sip before setting it back down with the solid, distinctive sound of heavy glass on wood. "You win, we'll do whatever bit of scouting you want. I win..." He rolled a shoulder. "Well I'll figure that out when the time comes." Probably also taking a look around, but she didn't need to know that. Really, he just wanted to see how she played the game.

Lucy narrowed her eyes briefly because the idea of not knowing what he wanted for winning felt vaguely ominous but there was also an underlying thread of something else she couldn't put her finger on or she wasn't going to examine too closely. Instead, she pursed her lips as she considered him throwing a couple more caps which she matched a moment later. "I would feel a lot more comfortable if you would tell me what you want if you win but fine."

His lips twitched, as he couldn't begin to guess what was going on in her head as she matched his bet. "Now where's the fun in that, Vaultie," he quipped, leaning up to turn and burn another card: the queen of spades. He hummed as she sat back and picked up his drink. "Ain't that interesting. Two little ladies on board." He tossed a single cap into the pile without taking his eyes off of Lucy to see if she'd match or raise.

She met his gaze before rolling her eyes at his response which didn't surprise her one bit. He did like to keep her guessing, except for when he needed her as bait or wanted to sell her. She hoped neither of those happened ever again. She looked at the cards, then at the pile of caps before tossing a single cap into the pile. It looked like she was trying to figure out if she had done the right thing or not as she studied the cards again and then glanced at him. "Yes, very interesting."

The Ghoul turned and burned the final card--ten of diamonds--carefully watching her reaction to it. "Now herein lies the question, Vaultie," he drawled, sitting back and picking up his drink with one hand and pushing the rest of his caps in with the other. "You gonna call or fold? Cause I suspect you got a trash hand. So. Caps are in your court, sweetheart."

Her brows pulled together as he pushed in all the caps when he drew the last card. She tilted her head, her green gaze drifting up to his face before she shrugged a little. "Well, they weren't my caps to start with," she replied, seemingly deciding 'screw it' as she pushed the rest of her caps into the middle pile with his. "And now we're done, right? We can show each other our hands?"

"Didn't think the caps was the point anymore, darlin'," the Ghoul pointed out, laying his hand over the cards and sliding them toward him flipping them over to show the queen of clubs and the seven of diamonds. "I got three ladies."

"Oh right, it was about getting you to come explore with me," she corrected herself with a hint of a smirk as she watched him toss down the cards he had been betting on. The uncertainty that she had been showing slipped as she flipped her cards over. "That's a nice hand but it can't beat a full house."

There it was, the queen of diamonds and ten of hearts.

The Ghoul stared down at her cards for a moment and leaned back in his chair, his face giving little away as he looked from the table to her face. "You mean to tell me you pulled a fuckin' full house on the fuckin' river? If this was Vegas, sweetheart, ain't no way they'd think you weren't cheatin'." He knew better though, he'd had his eye in her the whole time. Still, he stared a little longer just to make her squirm, before he chuckled, picked up his drink and downed the rest of it in one gulp. "Respect," he replied, picking up the caps and shoving them back into his pockets. Yeah, they were hers now technically but as previously stated: they were garbage here, and he already knew the vault suits didn't have pockets. "Lead the way, Vaultie."

Her green eyes danced with amusement even as he stared at the cards and then at her. She figured he had to know she had tricked him a little now but she had said that she knew how to play, she just hadn’t said how well. But the longer he stared, the smile slipped a notch and she did squirm. Not that she thought he was angry but he had one of those stares that made it feel like he was looking right through you.

But she had won fair and square which he didn’t seem to fight as he gathered the caps. Maybe they would play more in the future. “Great!” She smiled as she rose to her feet, forgetting her drink or maybe just choosing not to bother. Then she paused and looked at him curiously. “Any idea where we should start? I’ll let you pick.”

"Magnanimous an offer as that is, Vaultie, this here's your show," the Ghoul drawled, adjusting his hat as he followed her. "I was just gon' stay and have another drink." Yeah, that was all he was planning to do if he'd won the card game. Withholding that nugget of info was just another way of needling her and making her squirm. "Just pick a door. Can't be that big a place."

"Just remember that you said that," Lucy answered with a bit of a smirk as he started following her. If it was her show, then he would have to keep from taking over and she was wondering if he was capable of doing that. At least there were no guns involved this time.

"There's only one door," she started towards the door, wondering where it would lead. What she wasn't expecting was to step out into...nothing. Her breath stilled as she looked at the darkness that surrounded them until she heard the click and whirled around with a warning. "Don't..."

Except the door was gone and they were standing there in the darkness with nothing to look at but four large circular things, three of which suddenly light up. Her eyes widened as she looked back to the Ghoul to see his reaction.

The Ghoul turned around to reach for the door handle, except there weren't one anymore. With a low sound of annoyance, he turned back to the sudden flare of lights, paced around the edges of them with a thoughtful frown that didn't give much away. Four...no, five of 'em. But only three that were lit up. He nudged one of the darkened ones with the toe of his boot. Nothing happened.

"Hn." Still frowning, he finished the circuit to bring himself back to Lucy's side. "Let's go explorin', she says," he drawled sarcastically, angling his head to give her a Look. "Look around, scout the building, come on, it'll be fun, she says. Well here we are, Vaultie. Now what?"

"How was I supposed to know this would happen? Nothing about this has been...normal," she said the last word with a bit of confusion because there was nothing normal in her life that had happened even before she found herself here. Her new comradery with the Ghoul was certainly not normal.

"Maybe we go through one of these?" She asked as she moved in front of the first, squinting against the bright light. But even as she stood there, it didn't feel right and so she wandered again towards the other two. The second one had a ring of mushrooms around it and the other had seashells. Interesting

"Sure the hell don't look we gonna be goin' anywhere else, Vaultie," the Ghoul drawled, still mildly annoyed as he crouched next to one of the portals. Looked like a city in the sky. Fuck that. He followed Lucy over to the remaining too and scoffed aloud at the one that, it would appear, was a one way ticket into the fucking ocean. Fuck that one too.

"What's that one," he asked, jerking his chin towards the final one. Looked like just a regular ol' city. Perfect. He moved behind Lucy on the pretense of peering over her shoulder into the portal, then planted his hand between her shoulder blades and shoved her in.

Lucy had much the same reaction when she looked in the first portal and saw a city in the sky. It looked pretty but she didn’t feel a pull towards it, only a bit of nervousness because what happened if someone walked off or fell?

The watery portal was worse and so she turned to look at the second portal, noting it looked ‘normal’. She wandered forward, still studying it and was about to say that it looked good to her when she felt his hand between her shoulderblades a second before he pushed.

She sucked in a breath as she felt a moment of weightlessness and being disoriented when the world seemed to drop from under her feet. Then she was stumbling, a blast of cool air washing over her as she straightened and found herself standing in a town. Whirling about, she glared and waited for him to come through. “You pushed me!”

The Ghoul had crouched down by the edge of the portal to watch what happened when she went through the freaky portal...which was nothing, it seemed. She just...was somewhere else now.

Interesting.

"Yep." He shrugged as he rose slowly and dropped through after her, landing with a clink of spurs. "What, you think we was gonna hold hands and fling ourselves into the void together? Nah. Somebody had to go first, so I volunteered ya."

"Which is rude considering you should have been the one to go first considering you're better at surviving and can take more possible damage than I can," she huffed at him before turning away to bite back the rest of her irritation at the moment. It wasn't going to do any good to argue with him, he didn't like listening to reason and he didn't particularly care about her safety.

Looking over the gray buildings, she started forward before pausing and looking down at her hand where there was now a bright green emerald. Curious, she held it up and studied it before glancing over at him to see if he had the same thing happening to him.

"Yeah, yeah, world's smallest violin, Vaultie," the Ghoul drawled, lifted his hand rubbing the pad of his index finger against his thumb--and almost dropping the emerald in his hand in the process. With a thoughtful sort of grunt, he held the gem up to the light. Couldn't tell if it was real or not, hadn't really given a shit about fancy gems for two hundred years. "Hm."

Her eyes flashed as she narrowed them in his direction and, just for a moment, she considered flipping him off but she didn’t. She merely turned away, giving her attention to the emerald again as she studied it.

She didn’t know what possessed her to do it then but she raised it up to press it gently to the hollow of her throat, trying to imagine what it would look like as a necklace. Then there was a warm tingling sensation which made her freeze as she looked at him with with eyes. Once the sensation faded, she lowered her hand as the emerald stayed in place, held gently now as a pendant by a necklace that consisted of two delicate silver chains.

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