TDM #1: WELCOME VISITORS

[calderamods]

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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Comments

[stoneeye]

God that's so attractive.

"Worry not, good lady." He took out a small pouch. One not loaded with berries, but Bones delivered by their resident odd duck artisan. He set them down on the table beside her cot. "I made sure to retrieve both you and your berries before we absconded."

[zephrah]

"Oh!" Keyleth breathed out a sigh of relief, tension visibly bleeding from her shoulders, and she flashed Wyll a brilliant smile full of gratitude. "Thank you! And thank you so much for helping me. That was a weird experience, I've never been put to sleep like that before! I owe you one. I promise I'll be better prepared for the next quest. It's been a bit since I properly adventured." She looked around them properly and swung her legs over the side of the cot, testing her muscles before tentatively getting to her feet. Seemed all good! "You really carried me all this way?"

Actively ignores his strength stat because its stupid

[stoneeye]

"Ah, the boons of the elves." He mused with a soft chuckle. "I had not considered such an inherent trait would be gone, but I suppose it fits with our arrival." Powerless, dependent on the world and their duty to fulfill quests.

Wyll rubbed the back of his neck. "It was not too far to the docks." So yes, but it wasn't a dramatic, overly long trip. He stood up as she did, a hand politely extended (he was so going to kiss her knuckles if she took it). "I'm Wyll, by the way, and your gratitude is thanks enough."

have u seen this man's abs 9 str my ass

[zephrah]

"Oh, maybe! Or the toxin in the plant was just that strong!" Hard to imagine something being that naturally powerful and instantaneous...what were these berries for again?? You know what, best not to ask too many questions.

"I'm Keyleth, of the Air Ashari," Keyleth replied brightly, taking his hand expecting a handshake and turning a bit pink around the ear tips at the gallant kiss. "It's nice to meet you, Wyll. I like your horns! I'm an antler gal myself," she quipped, pointing to her head piece.

[stoneeye]

Powerful enough to bypass the fey ancestry of an elf? He practically shuddered at the thought.

Wyll smiled, his brows raised curiously. "Air Ashari? I'm afraid I'm not familiar." But always willing to be enlightened. At the mention of his horns, however, Wyll faltered slightly, reaching up to gently brush the curve of one. "Antlers suit you far more, I think, lady Keyleth. But thank you."

[zephrah]

"Oh, um, we're a druidic tribe," Keyleth explained, giving him the bare bones, quickest version of her people possible. "We protect the places on the prime material plane where the veil between us and the elemental planes are thin. My people watch over the elemental plane of air."

She tilted her head, as that slight...hitch? Something. She caught it, but she couldn't tell where it came from, other than the mention of the gracefully curling horns. She bit her lip, trying to decide if she should apologize or not, but decided to let it go. "Thanks, they've been passed down for a long time," she replied with a soft smile. "It was nice of this place to let me keep them. The last place I was at, they took all our stuff from us, even our clothes."

[stoneeye]

"A surely dangerous but necessary duty. I must commend you for your efforts." He replied, voice tinged with awe.

Wyll cocked his head. "The last place... not your homeland, then?"

[zephrah]

"Oh, uh, thanks! We do what we can." Keyleth fidgeted a bit awkwardly, very glad she hadn't also put it out there that she sort of, kind of, lead said people.

Tugged along by curiosity, she began to wander around the room about, trying to look out of a window. "Oh gosh, no," she replied, glancing at him with a smile to let him know that, curiosity about this underwater city aside, she was still listening and paying attention. "It was some part of the Feywilds. A bunch of archfey brought us there for entertaining. Well, they said it was entertainment. I always suspected it was something more like what we're being asked of here, but at least this place is being more honest about it. I think." They didn't look like crumbling cities, but maybe there was decay beneath the surface that they just couldn't see yet. "How deep under the ocean do you think we are?"

[stoneeye]

"Entertainment for the Fey? I cannot say I envy you." Although he felt like him and his companions were entertainment for so many powerful beings these days.

Wyll shrugged absently and moved to join her at the window, watching creatures swimming by the massive bubble in the distance. "Deep enough I would not recommend trying to swim to the surface without assistance. It took a few minutes to reach the depths in the vessel we took."

[zephrah]

"It wasn't so bad, really." Whatever flaws and sins could be laid at their archfey captors feet, it was undeniable that they had given Keyleth something that the gods of Exandria had denied her: more time with someone she had loved, deeply and hopelessly, enough that she could accept the loss and move on without so much bitterness and anger in her heart. For that, she had no choice but to be grateful.

"Oh. Goodness." It was a journey she could have made just fine, under normal circumstances, with the abilities usually available to her. Just to test it out again, Keyleth concentrated for a moment to see if her form could shift into that of anything else--a bird, a fish, a saber toothed tiger--but no. It was the same state she'd been in when she'd first arrived in the Feywilds, what seemed like a lifetime ago. Oh well. She sighed a bit, tipping her head up to gaze towards the surface. "I really can't thank you enough for helping me. I'm...well. It's odd to feel this...vulnerable, I guess. Usually I wouldn't need this much help with something as simple as some fussy plants." She sent him a dazzling sweet smile. "I'm glad there are always good people in the world, no matter where you go."

[stoneeye]

"It was no trouble." He assured her. "I may no longer be present upon the Sword Coast, but I will always be the Blade of Frontiers - more than willing to lend my hand to those in need of aid." He absolutely did not have to talk like that, especially since Keyleth probably had no fucking idea what he was going on about. The sentiment was obvious though: he was happy to help when she needed it.

Her smile made his heart skip - bright and ethereal. He smiled back at her, just a touch of bashfulness in the soft chuckle he exhaled. "You and I both. Would you like company on your way back to the surface? Or perhaps a stroll through the city here? It is impressive."

[zephrah]

"The Blade of Frontiers," Keyleth repeated with a touch of awe in her voice. Listen, her adventuring days might have been pretty much behind her, save for the occasional outing she was sure the rest of Vox Machina would drag her out of Zephrah for, but she would always have a soft spot for a fellow do-gooding adventurer. "Wow. That is such a good name! It's so swashbuckley." Coming from anyone else it might have sounded like poking fun, but from her, it was completely earnest.

Still beaming, Keyleth nodded enthusiastically and glanced around quickly to make sure she'd gathered all of her things, the bones he'd been kind of enough to collect for her, her circlet. "I would love to look around. It reminds me a little of Vesrah--that's where the Water Ashari live--but they still live on the surface, not below it like this. I'm dying to see what the rest of the city is like."

[stoneeye]

Wyll laughed, slightly preening. "I have buckled many swashes, I will say." He patted the hilt of the rapier on his hip - not quite the blade he usually carried, but good enough for now and appropriately fitting for the comment.

He waited patiently for her to gather her things, spoke to one of the healers who assured it was fine for her to go - and to be careful of those berries - and then offered his elbow for Keyleth to take if she so chose, ushering them out of the building and into the Shimmer Quarter; the market just beside them. "You will have to tell me more of your Ashari. They sound quite intriguing."

[zephrah]

Keyleth's face pinked, and she dragged a lock of her hair over her shoulder to twist it between her hands, giggling softly. A more suave person might've seized on that to flirt. Alas. Keyleth could only stammer out a "Haha, yeah, I b-I bet."

Her flush only deepened as she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm, her other hand still nervously twisting her hair around her fingers. "Oh, well, um, we've been around for a long time, though the oldest of our history is lost to us. We were one people once, and divided to watch over the elemental rifts that were torn open during the Calamity."

[stoneeye]

For whatever it was worth, Wyll probably wouldn't have noticed an attempt to flirt anyway. His swashing buckles had been purely for giggles, the dork.

He did note the pink upon her freckled cheeks though; felt his own warming as he escorted her out into the city proper. Any sense of cheeriness faltered slightly at the mention of 'the Calamity.'

"I can imagine with a title like that, it is not a joyous history to recall anyway." He said. "How far apart are you now?"

[zephrah]

"Well it was a war between the gods, so..." She gestured helplessly. She hadn't seen it for herself, of course, as it had happened in ancient times, but she'd been there to witness the rise of one god, so. She could imagine pretty well.

"The Air and Earth Ashari live on the same continent--Tal'Dorei. The Fire Ashari live on a different continent, and the Water Ashari live on the Ozmit sea. We weren't very good at keeping in communication, but I've been working on changing that since, well, some bad things happened." Another sort of helpless gesture; she really didn't want to talk only of doom and gloom, and she felt like she was rambling. "Where are you from? I feel like I'm just talking nonstop about myself!"

[stoneeye]

"Ah." That old chestnut. It was clear Keyleth did not want to elaborate currently, and thus Wyll did not press, although his curiosity was certainly piqued.

He nodded along, not recognizing the names but keeping them in mind nonetheless. She seemed a woman of importance, especially if she was actively trying to change the communication efforts of her various people. "I was the one to ask of you, dear lady. I do not mind." but he would not ignore her question, obviously. "I hail from Faerûn - Baldur's Gate, more specifically. The largest city on the Sword Coast. All along the coast is where I was known as the Blade of Frontiers - I still am, but now I am traveling with many different companions after an unfortunate incident banded us all together."

[zephrah]

"Faerûn," Keyleth repeated, finding the word fascinating, and a little familiar, like she'd heard it in conversation before but couldn't quite place where. She'd met a lot of people in the Sexy Feywilds, after all. "Does the name have anything to do with the fae?" She perked up a bit and grinned. "Isn't that always how it goes? Do you guys have a cool adventuring name?"

[stoneeye]

"I believe it means Faerie in some old and ancient tongue, but I am not certain what other history I may be missing." He admitted. Then, he chuckled. "Actually, we do not. And now that I consider it... we most definitely should. Perhaps I can brainstorm with our fearless leader, since he is here as well."

[zephrah]

"You should," Keyleth laughed brightly, scrunching her freckled nose. "Every adventuring team should have a catchy name! You must have some great stories. What's the scariest thing you've fought? Or the strangest adventure you've had?"

[stoneeye]

"If I am honest... the adventure I am currently on may very well take the prize for strangest. Are you familiar with mindflayers?"

[zephrah]

Keyleth shuddered almost immediately. "We ran into a colony of them in the Underdark, once," she replied. "They're...I mean I try to find something beautiful and valuable in all living things, but that was difficult in that case. What happened?"

[stoneeye]

A perfectly reasonable response when thinking of a mindflayer. Wyll sighed. "My companions and I were plucked from the streets into a mindflayer ship and infected with their tadpoles." He pointed to his temple. "They are still there, although dormant now while I'm in this world, I suppose. We should have had tentacles bursting from our heads ages ago, but there is strange, nefarious magic afoot."

[zephrah]

"A sh-a ship? They have ships? They did what?" That! Was a horrifying thought! All of it! Thanks Wyll! She may never sleep again. Immediately concerned, she reached over and kind of...lightly touched his temple, like she might be able to sense or feel something coming from him. And she might have, if she'd had all of her magic available to her. "I'm so sorry. That sounds terrifying. Are you sure you're okay?" She bit her lower lip. "I don't know that much about their...tadpoles? But there's gotta be a way to fix it."

[stoneeye]

Oh. Wyll's mismatched eyes widened at the touch, even as gentle and fleeting as it was. She was not the first to fret over him and his condition, but the tadpole did not so much as twitch this time. "Worry not, sweet Keyleth, we are attempting to find a cure for our condition, my companions and I. As it is, the squirming beast seems dormant here, so we have time enough to consider our options." A beat. Wyll hummed. "Given the vast number of people from different realms, perhaps being here is a blessing itself for our predicament." Someone might have interesting alternative solutions.