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sticksandbones2023-06-11 04:08 pm
TDM 002
Good morning, stranger. No matter what was happening within the last few minutes of your life, it's not happening anymore. All you recall about the transition from there to this sleepy, abandoned grove in the middle of the foggy woods is a collective of childish voices whispering in your mind, Do you want to play with me? And it did not care what the answer was. The manor, ever inaccessible, has not a single light within the windows, but the general store and the inn both seem to have some life- you may just miss the child watching through the manor attic as you approach the other locations.
Also notable is what looks to be a street stall manned by a shadow cloaked in red and a giant turtle. The warm glow of lights and the sourceless jovial music is also inviting. The woman herself, however, can only stare with her eye-lights a gray shade that seems unfitting. Even when she shakes off her dismay, there's something shaky in her voice as she speaks later.
Though there's an abundance of flowers, something about them seems wrong. Maybe it's the fact that some of them are the size of sports balls. Or the roots are starting to emerge through the dirt, sprawling across the grove's floor like a mess of cords. Or maybe it's the fact that the red dog keeps snarling and trying to dig through them. When you investigate, some of the flowers have leaves and petals sharp as knives. They do not grab you... yet. Do be careful, because they will if you let your guard down.
The entire place is strange and odd. But you are not alone. Be it those beside you, freshly awakened, or the residents already here. Welcome to Aldric's Grove.
At some point, the grove is more... open. With how closed in the clearing is, with it's dreary cloudy sky and the fog all around, it always felt small. But now? Now it's... strange. It's open. And perhaps that is when you realize, you can enter the woods. It's letting you in perhaps more than one might expect, but ultimately there is still no escape. But as you venture forth, some of the trees, you note, are oddly shaped. The trunk twists or warps into uneven lumps, or maybe a branch looks more like an arm than it should. And then you find them.
Someone you know, warped and wooden, leaves growing from them like any normal tree. Were they fighting? Were they fleeing? Did they freeze in surprise? All you can tell is that no one escaped. But why are they here? Where did they come from? Press your ear against their chest and you can hear the flow of water. Or... maybe it's... no, no, it must be water. Do you dare try and cut through the bark? Try and uproot the tree? And now that you see the faces, it feels like every single tree in the area is looking right at you. Watching.
Waiting.
Something in the air giggles.
While the forest invites you to see the horrors of the forest, a more clear cut path through the fog also extends it's invitation. The narrow path through the fog may be easier than open air, now that you know what lies beyond. Eventually the fog dissipates and leaves you in a one-tree forest; every tree is the same species and, though it may not be true, feels as if they're exactly the same. Same height. Same width. Same space apart, from all angles. Even as the fog surrounds you, it feels like an endless pattern of wood, and you are the outlier. At least you are not alone.
The only other thing breaking the pattern is a gray, whispy figure made of smoke sitting at a raw log table, a deck of cards before it. The smoke breaks to offer a grin with too many teeth, and it gestures to the cards.
Round of cards? You pick the game. Win, and I'll give you something nice.
... At least there's no moosetaur ready to break your neck at a moment's notice this time, at least, but if you do cheat a hail of acorns and other tree nuts falls upon you. Hard. Bruisingly so, even. The figure does not stop smiling all the while. You can challenge the figure to any card game played with a standard deck of cards alone, or with up to two other players- so one to three players against the smoke total. Refusal to play is met with an easy smile... but the three-day loss of one of your senses.
Several weeks ago- ... or... was it days? Time is strange here, foggy and unclear- there was a ruckus at the river. And then it had closed, cutting the survivors off from their main source of food. Now, the path to the river is open and upon entry, it's much different. The thorns and giant brambles are gone, the open space unblocked by the fog is wider, and a larger abundance of fish can be seen, none recognizable... except. Huh. That sure is a holographic turtle. And golden fish that glow like the sun...
The water is cold and clear. The riverbanks are full of flowers and clovers. Scales and bones and medalions still wash up on the shore or can be fished out from between the cracks, but the teeth seem to be gone at least. Compared to the watchful, hateful, despairing air of the forest, the river is welcoming. Above the water, it feels like there's not a cloud in the sky. Nothing can reach you here.
Growing around the river is also some fruit trees- apples, primarily. If you take one, it's the brightest red you've ever seen on a fruit, and should you bite into it, it's perhaps the most delicious thing you've had in a long while. Idly, there is a soft voice flowing through the water and the air, gentle enough to go unnoticed.
thank you.
CLICK TO EXPAND!
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Elsword doesn't waste any time gathering his stuff and shouting out to that kid,]
Hey! The wolf is gone, are you okay?
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"Get out! We don't want anyone here!"
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Your dog has been trying to get in and see you guys for months now! Don't you want to see him, too?
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Wow, way to make a kid cry.
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I can help you. That's what I came to do.
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The hallway is starting to feel a little... weird.
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I'm looking for someone. [Ignoring that, Elsword fully believes that he can save anybody but there's no point in arguing about that.] A man with long white hair and a scar over his left eye, usually followed by drones that look like syringes. His name is Add. I'll leave after you tell me if you've seen him here or not.
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The first one again. And then the second, more muddled but audible with the distortions-
"Just get him out, Rill, he's gotta- they can't do this again..."
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If you need help... send word. I'll be there.
[As he always is, and with a muttered prayer for Elria to protect the kids, he'll make his way back downstairs and through the wall again, protecting himself in his wings as he tries to get through the magic and warped wood. And as soon as he's outside, he's just gonna set the stuff down and lay down.
Man.]
1/3
It's harder to tell if it's the boy or the girl, but- if he's leaving of his own accord, nothing else accosts him, at least, and the warping stops. He'll feel like he's being heavily watched the entire time, until he gets out. And even then...
2/3
( the moment he works his way back through the door, she drops the magic immediately- is. is that blood? IS THAT LOOT? WHAT THE HELL- running over, felicity immediately begins fussing and checking his injuries. )
What happened? I heard a howl-
3/3, cw: electrocution
Felicity will notice that the veins on Elsword's corrupted arm are very visible and black as pitch.
And that's about all she'll notice, as a magic circle appears beneath the two. It sure does suck that Elsword is wearing so much armor, and also that she is touching the armor, because metal has always been immensely conductive. The circle glows- and a wall of electricity surrounds them and crackles loudly-
Because of their own training and magic, it may take too long for the lightning to truly take it's effect, so it surges through and around them painfully, charging harder and harder until the two are on the verge of passing out. Or passed out on the porch entirely.
The salvaged goods go untouched, at least.
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Some things were just not possible to fix on his own, unfortunate as that reality is. That Add guy obviously understood something about his make, but he'd just up and vanished one day.
His very first confirmed human, gone.
9S dearly hopes he escaped.
For the time being, he supposes he shoud test his body out and have a look around. It's the only way to determine what needs further tuning, so he leaves his room, makes his way out of the inn, and glances around their little patch of presumably safe space in the midst of the woods.
That is, until his sights land on the tangled heap on the porch of the manor. His visual acuity, he's observed, is better than a human's — he recognizes electrical damage from the warped appearance of Elsword's armor even before he starts running in their direction.
Quick as androids are, he closes the distance quickly enough, but when he does...
It looks so much worse.
He doesn't know how to repair humans.
Which naturally means that 9S is going to heft them up like two overlarge potato sacks and proceed directly to Mister Shopkeep. That poor NPC is getting a frantic android with charred human (look 9S doesn't know what an angel even is) cargo today. ]
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now imagine having your robot kid come in with your angel kid and witch kid over his shoulders, the latter two singed to hell and back. what the fuck.
immediately, the shopkeeper's eyes turn gray as he stands up abruptly- )
What on the seven layers- What happened?
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They were out on the porch of that large housing structure we asked about before, like—like this. Their skin's not like mine, but his armor— [ 9S tilts his head to the side he's supporting Elsword with. ] that's electrical damage, isn't it?
[ All of this is said with an unmistakable strain of distress in his voice. ]
I don't know how to repair this...
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( he hadn't heard... had he been paying better attention, could he have stopped this? lords above. and lords below. heavens and hells alike help him, his stupid kids are doing shit.
but that... is very much electrical damage. )
... Keep them together so we don't gotta keep goin' back and forth, but lets move them to a bed. Some of the rooms in the inn should have two at least, or something big enough to keep 'em both. We'll need to get the armor off of Elsword, too... I'll grab some things from the medicine wares.
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And nudge he did, because even in his harried state, he respects Mister Shopkeep's property. ]
Could um... Could you get the door for me before you grab the supplies? I can get 'em to some beds pretty fast.
[ Is fast advisable? Unsure. ]