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calderamemes2024-07-27 11:14 am
calderaevents) wrote in calderamemes2024-07-27 11:14 am
Entry tags:
TDM #2
TDM #2
ARRIVAL (new characters only)
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.
The Tavernkeeper offers more than just answers, of course. This is a tavern after all, and what is a tavern without drinks?
DRINK MENU
PEOPLE SKILLS A deceptively simple looking cocktail that when imbibed makes one feel very social. Time to make friends and influence people!
STICKY SYRUP A mug of honey mead that makes the drinker's hands sticky for a short period of time. Careful what you touch!
PUPPY LOVE POTION Makes the drinker develop an instant and temporary crush on the next person they see.
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…
RAINBOW RUM Changes the drinkers hair or eye color (or both) every few minutes
KHEPRI SUN Makes the drinker glow bright like the sun. May cause temporary nighttime blindness for a day after consuming.
MIND THE WINE The drinker gains telekinesis until they leave the tavern. Please don't throw the bottles around, they're expensive.
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…)
STICKY SYRUP A mug of honey mead that makes the drinker's hands sticky for a short period of time. Careful what you touch!
PUPPY LOVE POTION Makes the drinker develop an instant and temporary crush on the next person they see.
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…
RAINBOW RUM Changes the drinkers hair or eye color (or both) every few minutes
KHEPRI SUN Makes the drinker glow bright like the sun. May cause temporary nighttime blindness for a day after consuming.
MIND THE WINE The drinker gains telekinesis until they leave the tavern. Please don't throw the bottles around, they're expensive.
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:
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, with 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, but due to recent events the amount of airships in the docks are limited. Travel is still possible, but there may be some delay while they ferry people back and forth. The locals speak of the day the sky fell and close inspection or further prodding provides new arrivals with some idea of what had happened a few weeks prior: a piece of Heaven's Bow had broken off, leaving many losing family members and friends to the tragedy. Attempts to rebuild are slow going.
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.
Down near where land meets sea, a large crater has formed from the piece of Heaven's Bow that landed there weeks before. Debris still scatters the landscape, and rescue efforts are ongoing even if hopes of finding people alive are slim to none these days. Broken columns of once majestic buildings lay in pieces, and the earth itself seems to be weeping with molten rock that has been unearthed by the impact.
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.
Much like the cities above, transportation is a little delayed. Much of the manpower usually kept for upkeeping the docks has been diverted to repairing pieces of the bubble that have started to leak. Not enough to truly worry the inhabitants of Salt Spire, but enough that it's slowing down a lot of other areas of the city while people work to fix it.
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 Skyfall Docks are the first thing you notice, with 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, but due to recent events the amount of airships in the docks are limited. Travel is still possible, but there may be some delay while they ferry people back and forth. The locals speak of the day the sky fell and close inspection or further prodding provides new arrivals with some idea of what had happened a few weeks prior: a piece of Heaven's Bow had broken off, leaving many losing family members and friends to the tragedy. Attempts to rebuild are slow going.
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.
Down near where land meets sea, a large crater has formed from the piece of Heaven's Bow that landed there weeks before. Debris still scatters the landscape, and rescue efforts are ongoing even if hopes of finding people alive are slim to none these days. Broken columns of once majestic buildings lay in pieces, and the earth itself seems to be weeping with molten rock that has been unearthed by the impact.
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.
Much like the cities above, transportation is a little delayed. Much of the manpower usually kept for upkeeping the docks has been diverted to repairing pieces of the bubble that have started to leak. Not enough to truly worry the inhabitants of Salt Spire, but enough that it's slowing down a lot of other areas of the city while people work to fix it.
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.
COMMUNITY EFFORT
Prior to the new batch of Visitors making their appearance in Caldera, a terrible tragedy struck. On the last night of a festival celebrating the Visitors arrival, a piece of Heaven's Bow fell, causing hundreds to tumble into the sea or, even worse, into the land below if they were not caught or otherwise rescued. Many below suffered the onslaught of falling debris, and even Salt Spire was not free of calamity when the aftershocks rocked the sea so hard the bubble surrounding the city started to shudder and crack.
The aftermath has been unpleasant. But the native Calderans seem pleased with the Visitors for all they have done during and after the tragedy. Clean up and rescue efforts are ongoing, and while little hope remains in finding loved ones alive and well down below, closure is enough for most.
There are also those that remain - the ones that survived and could not search or truly fend for themselves. The children with parents lost to the tragedy and the pets without owners now wandering the streets. The Calderans insist that Visitors, if they find it in their hearts to do so, look to adopt these lost souls so they are not left to suffer the aftermath alone while proper housing for them is built in the meantime. This adoption can be temporary or permanent.
There is also the crater near the shore of Grey Ward, hot with molten rock that has bubbled to the surface once a portion of the debris had been cleared. The more scholarly sort are attempting to investigate while rescue and clean up efforts are ongoing and may even try to recruit Visitors to bring them samples of the rocks, offering them heavy metal boxes to lug them around in. These boxes might get hot, and breaking open the molten rock could have lava spewing onto your hands. So be careful!
Further investigation finds salamanders rising from the cracks in the earth. Large, lizard like creatures made of flame that attack on sight - although it seems to be an instinctive fear response, like they haven't seen another creature in a long, long time.
The aftermath has been unpleasant. But the native Calderans seem pleased with the Visitors for all they have done during and after the tragedy. Clean up and rescue efforts are ongoing, and while little hope remains in finding loved ones alive and well down below, closure is enough for most.
There are also those that remain - the ones that survived and could not search or truly fend for themselves. The children with parents lost to the tragedy and the pets without owners now wandering the streets. The Calderans insist that Visitors, if they find it in their hearts to do so, look to adopt these lost souls so they are not left to suffer the aftermath alone while proper housing for them is built in the meantime. This adoption can be temporary or permanent.
There is also the crater near the shore of Grey Ward, hot with molten rock that has bubbled to the surface once a portion of the debris had been cleared. The more scholarly sort are attempting to investigate while rescue and clean up efforts are ongoing and may even try to recruit Visitors to bring them samples of the rocks, offering them heavy metal boxes to lug them around in. These boxes might get hot, and breaking open the molten rock could have lava spewing onto your hands. So be careful!
Further investigation finds salamanders rising from the cracks in the earth. Large, lizard like creatures made of flame that attack on sight - although it seems to be an instinctive fear response, like they haven't seen another creature in a long, long time.
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 second 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.
We are not policing NPC or pet adoptions. Use your best judgement and have fun with it!
All locations are available to be explored!
Reserves are currently open! Applications will open on August 1st and close on the 10th along with reserves.
The TDM is game canon and all completed quests can be carried over once accepted into the game.
main navigation
For OOC questions, please direct themhere.
We are not policing NPC or pet adoptions. Use your best judgement and have fun with it!
All locations are available to be explored!
Reserves are currently open! Applications will open on August 1st and close on the 10th along with reserves.
The TDM is game canon and all completed quests can be carried over once accepted into the game.
no subject
So far, Percy had sampled a little bit of a bright green drink, and through the sheen of some unshed tears, a very familiar-looking figure managed to capture his attention. There are only so many people that can cling to shadows as effectively as a particular rouge that he knew. "Vax'ildan?" Percy hiccupped, hastily wiping the steadily falling tears from his cheeks.
no subject
"Percy? What-why are you crying?" He pulled a face, lip curling a bit as he leaned back and looked confused at the other. "Wait...you didn't...you're drinking some of those weird drinks from the bar aren't you?"
no subject
"If crying isn't your particular thing, I believe there's something that could also produce telekinesis or even something like Keyleth's animal shape. I would love to see their strength when mixed with other agents." Percy thrilled, his voice vivid with delight and sharply at odds with his tears.
no subject
"Exactly...how many drinks have you had now? And what were they?" He squints, looking the human over a bit before looking down at the acrid looking concoction in his glass.
no subject
"One so far, but I may order another one. This one was called the crying frog- while the crying part is obvious, I am afraid to figure out what entailed the frog portion." Percy answered, crossing his legs underneath the table and effectively preventing any elegant escape route.
no subject
Damn.
Fine, two can play it this way.
"I hear it gets it's green color from frog bile." It's not true but who's to say Percy would know. At the very least Vax can plant the seed of doubt in there.
no subject
A Mexican standoff, then? Or is it more like Russian Roulette, especially when the second drink that Percy had ordered arrived and was conveniently placed in front of Percy, the new drink looking far less dangerous than the tear-inducing one.
"Perhaps... But who honestly would know?" Percy asked, shrugging his shoulder lightly before sliding the new drink in front of Vax, silently daring the other to accept the drink offered. "At least this drink has a more appetizing sounding name, and wouldn't make you cry." Percy offered, silently relieved when his tears were finally coming to a slow stop.
no subject
When the glass is slammed back down Vax burps before looking right at Percy with a smirk.
"I think you'll have to do better than that." Leaning on the table he pushed the glass over. He seems fine, that is until he's staring at Percy and....is that the slightest hint of a flush on his cheeks? Why had he not really noticed how attractive the inventor was. Smart and dashing, and witty...sure he could be a little priss sometimes but everyone has their faults right. Without realizing it Vax was leaning in towards Percy this time with that flush still painted across his cheeks, coloring up to the tips of his ears, and a sort of serene smile on his face.
Percy...what have you done?
no subject
To be fair- Percy honestly wasn't expecting for Vax to actually swallow the drink; he had assumed that Vax would use some of his rouge-like talents to make it somehow look like he had done the job, after all that was what he would have done in such a situation.
With mounting horror at just what sort of situation he had placed himself in by trying to out man an absolute lunatic, Percy's body locked up in a fight or flight response to the doe-eyed look that Vax was leveling at him. He had seen that smitten look before- usually with sneaked glances at a certain red-headed druid or a fabulously dressed shopkeep but never at himself, and to be honest? It was probably far more uncomfortable of an experience for him then when he inflicted the sight of himself crying to the other.
"Ah... I... I should go get us something to eat? Chicken perhaps? You like chicken. Yes. That sounds rather good right about now." Percy stuttered as he quickly stood up, his hips accidentally hitting the table in his rush to escape and knocking over the thrice damned cup of revenge gone wrong.
no subject
Of course that meant that now Vax was indeed giving Percy an incredibly softer than usual smile, one that usually only a very small fraction of people were graced with. A look that made the brooding elf appear a lot gentler than he ever was with the inventor.
"Huh? Oh!" The mention of Percy going to get them food and proceeding to bash into the table sort of snaps Vax out of his gazing, but that light still hasn't left his eyes. "Okay! I'll just...wait here."
Looking down at his glass of water that has been empty he holds it out, catching the other as Percy nearly knocks it to the ground. "Get me a refill on my water?"