TDM 001

[sticksandbonesmods]

INTO THE WOODS

WAKE UP

Whatever you remember last, something interrupts - be it a fight, a test, a walk, or death itself. All you can recall is a childlike voice (or was it voices?) asking, "Do you want to play with me?" before everything stopped. Your eyelids feel heavy, and the surrounding air is chilled. When you wake up, you and the others find yourselves standing in a makeshift plaza on a foggy morning. In the very center is a well. The water within is cold and clear as can be.

Surrounding the clearing is a ring of what looks to be the foundations of buildings never finished, save for two rather large ones and a smaller one. Only the small building has any light shining from the windows. One is labeled as an inn but has no name, and the other is an imposing, large manor with a red dog quietly scratching at the door. Given the indents on the wood, he's been at it for a very long time. Beyond the buildings is the start of a forest, though it quickly fills up with a fog so thick you can't see through it at all.

The smaller building is simply signed as a general store. A thick figure stands in the doorway, layered in brown and dark red cloaks that cover most of his body, save for brown worker's gloves and his pants. Two blue lights shine from the shadows where his face would be, and they shift as they watch you... before he turns around and takes his seat at the counter of the store. It's open, but he doesn't seem too thrilled.

There's a gap in the fog in the south east corner of it all, and you can hear the flow of water if approached. Trying to force your way through the fog lets you move forward four feet before you hit an invisible wall, while trying to go up- be it flight or climbing- sees you thwarted twenty feet above the canopy with a similar experience. Those above will see only the tree tops and a dense, heavy fog, and a cloudy, cold sun-lit sky. Through your explorations, you can find the start of a gate almost opposite across the clearing of the river, with a somehow familiar sign hanging from it:

Welcome to Aldric's Grove.

THE INN

The inn is just as empty as the rest of the grove, save for the shopkeeper. Four rooms on the first floor are locked, and won't budge even under force, and their keys are missing from the clerk's counter. On the bright side, there are remaining keys, free to claim - keys to the store rooms, too. The kitchen is large, as one might expect from an inn, but the kitchenware seems a touch out of date, by anyone's standards. The pantry has enough to feed the lot of you for a time, fresh food and vegetables and dried or cured meats, alongside spices and herbs. One could bake if they were so inclined.

There's a lounge room as well, just before the stairs. All the furniture was pushed to the wall for what can be presumed to be cleaning, if the empty bucket and dry mop is anything to go by. In the center of the far wall is an empty fireplace, but there's no firewood to be found.

Upstairs are more rooms, accessible only with keys. It's not perfect, but it's at least a place to stay. There's a bed for two, a small table by the window, a dresser and closet, a very small stove and a private bathroom to each, but everything seems bare... at a glance.

The worst of it is that you know the layout. You've been here before- or... no, that can't be right. Surely you would remember a place like this. Right?

THE RIVER

"What you take from the river, you must return." That's what the Shopkeeper says, if you stop by the store before going to the river.

The water rushing over rocks can be heard even from the distance of the grove itself, but upon approach it only seems louder. From what can be seen, the fog has only receded enough to grant access to 30 yards of the river and it's matching banks- after that, only fog and unusually thick bramble patches remain and block off passage on land or water. At it's deepest, the water is four feet deep and the current seems gentle. Fish can be seen swimming through the water, and objects glitter beneath the sand and mud.

Along the riverbanks, scales, small bones and teeth and strange coins marked with canines litter the ground. Keen eyes will note that some of the bones and teeth are that of animals, and some are that of humans. Some, however, are impossible to identify.

Stepping into the water feels relaxing. It's cold yet inviting. The fish swirl around your ankles before darting away, and just for a moment, everything seems like it will be okay.

On the other hand, when trying to cut through the brambles, there's a low rumble from the surrounding woods. Persist, and a vine coils around your ankle, dragging you into the water. That feels less relaxing, most likely.

PLAY TIME

At some point, there's an unusual sound- earth moving on it's own, old trees parting from their nesting place and rearranging themselves behind the fog. And as the din dies down, the fog parts, showing a thick tunnel of trees and leaves. It might look like something out of a fairy tale, if not for the sickening noises of the bark and wood creaking and writhing slowly. Whether you want to go or not, however, you will find yourself compelled to walk down the road eventually.

The road seems like a brief fifteen minute hike and a near three hour trek at the same time, but when you come to the end, you find yourself still in the woods, still circled by fog, but not the same as the grove. Once enough people are there, the path closes behind you. Keen eyes may spot hollowed out logs, trees with holes beneath the roots or high up above the branches, and large patches of very tall grass. Within the center is a cage with a pinecone shaped button on two opposing sides. Before you can finish taking it all in, however, a soft, cheerful whisper of a voice speaks:

"Let's play! If you win, I'll give you something special. Promise! Here, I'll explain the rules:"

1. Robbers must hide within the arena, and not get caught. Upon being found by the jailer, they have the opportunity to flee. But if they get caught, they get brought to jail.

2. Prisoners cannot free themselves, but free players can by pushing both of the buttons on the cage. This will give everyone a three minute immunity to run and hide again.

3. Players must move every five minutes, or they get caught immediately.

"The game will end if everyone gets caught or if at least one person stays free at the end of the hour."

The voice doesn't elaborate what happens if everyone gets caught- if you lose. Instead, it's jailer steps forward from the shadows, staring at everyone with a featureless face. It resembles a moose-faced centaur made of rusted metal and wood, yet what should be creaky, slow steps are light and agile. You have five minutes to hide. But when it bursts into a run, searching forcefully through grass, leaving cracks in the earth beneath its hooves as it starts to run, there's an unsettling feeling in your stomach: what happens if you get caught at all?

In order to win as a group, 10 threads featuring a successful escape- be it from the monster or from the cage- must be submitted by the end of the month. You may only submit one thread per character, but two characters can use the same thread. If you want to get caught and suffer consequences, or try to fight the monster, please use the "FIGHT OR FLIGHT" comment beneath the submission toplevel. Should the characters win the game, they will get a prize after all submissions have been accounted for!

SPARK NOTES

CLICK TO EXPAND!

WAKE UP

A general welcome to Aldric's Grove! The shopkeeper has witnessed your arrival and seems... resigned. Rusty is trying very hard to get inside the manor. Otherwise, everything seems eerily still.

THE INN

A cursory glance at the inn! It's bare, barely furnished yet stocked enough to provide shelter and food. Several doors are locked and won't budge. But you know it. You know this place.

THE RIVER

The river is only barely accesible, though opportnity to try and explore anyways is possible. Bone fragments, scales and teeth from all sorts of species, including humans, litter the banks alongside canine-decorated medalions, and something glitters beneath the sand in the river itself. While in the water, there's an unnaturally soothing feeling.

PLAY TIME

The forest opens up a path through the fog to invite people to play with it. Once they reach the next clearing, the path closes behind everyone and a disembodied voice announces that we're playing cops and robbers. The cop is a large moose-faced centaur statue made of rusty metal and wood, and it packs one hell of a punch. Don't get caught!

OOC

Welcome to the very first TDM and Event of Sticks and Bones! This TDM is game canon. Questions may be asked below or on the faq, and everything may be revisted with bonus ac items as time goes on. Applications are now open, and all TDM threads will count for AC and Bonus AC.

UPDATES

❖ Rusty has a bed to lay on on the porch! Izuku should be so proud of himself.
❖ A portion of the arena of the game- alongside the hiding spots in that area- are on fire, or destroyed by fire. Kjell forgot they were in the forest when fleeing the jailer.
❖ One of the cutting boards in the inn kitchen is cleaved in half, and the counter has deep gouges in it. Yor was cutting bread.

SUBMISSIONS

QUESTIONS & INVESTIGATIONS ⚘ NPC CONTACT ⚘ PLAY TIME ⚘ FIGHT OR FLIGHT

(CODE)

Comments

FIGHT OR FLIGHT

[sticksandbonesmods]

Want to get caught? Want to fight the monster? Both? Roll a single d20 and submit a screenshot and your desired attempt to this comment, and I'll tell you your results. As a warning, you'll want to do well but not perfect- the woods can be a very sore loser.

But where's the fun of things going perfectly right?

elsword FIGHTS the monster

[simplicitas]

amity i'm sorry i'll toplevel later but you know how you said don't do well?? well,,,,,,

[sticksandbonesmods]

Elsword destroys the thing- or would, if it didn't repair through vines and branches reaching out and twisting itself back together- and wins freedom for himself and one other person. However, as he leaves the arena at the end, he hears a burning, furious voice in his head:

You were supposed to LOSE.

There's a searing pain, and when he finally opens his eyes, there's a black vine winding around his wrist. It squeezes tight, too tight whenever he tries to use that hand- and when he tries to go for his sword in the future, there's a terrible pain up his arm.

[manyloops]

Going to attempt to flee and hopefully not get caught?

Rolled a 14.

[sticksandbonesmods]

Though the creature spots Ajiro from the distance, he manages to break into a sprint before it can descend upon him. Through stealth in the tall grass and forethought- and perhaps a bit of luck in someone else catching it's attention - he gets away unharmed.

Fight (but not without consequences apparently)

[heolfor]

Where’s the fun in things going well indeed

[sticksandbonesmods]

girl you are a monster hunter, what

The fight is fast and greusome- and in the end, laying in a puddle of her own blood with multiple broken bones and a nice, rust-flecked new gash along her face, Artemia is dragged through the mud to the prison. She will not be able to walk without assistance until she gets treatment of a sort.

[idolincarnate]

As this probably won't end well-- Ruby is going to attempt to flee; I rolled an 8 for her.

[sticksandbonesmods]

Ruby valiantly tries to run once she gets cornered, but unfortunately the centaur is faster. It grabs her arm tight- bruising even- and hoists her up in the air looking at her impassively before turning on its hooves to carry her to the cage.

> fight

[belight]

Noctis is gonna try to fight off the monster, specifically just as he notices it about to get someone else, to save them. He does sort of well apparently, I rolled a 15 for him.

[sticksandbonesmods]

The rescue definitely works! And so does Noctis's valiant efforts, because while it's a brutal fight- the creature's punches leaves small craters- Noctis is victorious, leaving the beast staggered and dazed, long enough for him and his rescuee to escape without further harm.

As he leaves, he might feel a stinging, burning sensation, but it fades quickly.

FIGHT

[bethorns]

because Yor is kinda feral...she rolled high but probably? is not attempting murder so much as playing the game...in this case it means she's trying to distract in order to allow others to free some captured princesses, after which she'll try to bolt and rejoin the hiding. so...she's mostly trying to stick to the rules, just being Intense about it.

[sticksandbonesmods]

Ah, so you have chosen play. Yor is vicious, and so is the centaur- it's punches are like a sack of bricks, and it's fast, made of wood and rusty metal, so neither get out unscathed. Her distractions during escapes and rescues end well, however! Although she doesn't murder it like others have tried, she does leave it in need of self-repair at the end of it all.

Which... also angers the woods. Throughout the night of the game, Yor will feel a blinding pain just behind her eyes - come morning light her vision will recover, but a migraine may linger.

The woods is a sore loser.

[deductivedance]

The game is afoot, indeed! A certain detective can be seen fleeing through the woods with a happy little jaunty run and laugh. Herlock is VERY intrigued by the moose, but with how speedy that sucker is, he's not taking any chances and disappearing behind some nice trees at the last minute.

Rolled a 19, boss!

[sticksandbonesmods]

My good sir, that thing never once sees Herlock. Maybe it sees his hat at a point? But he is one with the shadows. For his stealth, he can see that sometimes a vague whispy fog leaves the centaur, and when it does, the beast stills and falls limp before the fog returns it to life and off it goes on the hunt once more.

Unfortunately, the Woods wanted a chase and it was denied such a thing with Herlock's excellent 'not getting decked by a hulking monster' skills, and for his great success - both of his hands are in absolute agony. Bending his fingers lends to such searing pains, no one would judge him for giving up on using his hands for the week.

fight fight fight

[luren]

protag's going to protag? it's not the first time that she's faced a creature so much bigger than her, which is why she's going to dig her heels into the dirt and try her luck.

[sticksandbonesmods]

The fight is as vicious as it is long. At one point, the jailer catches Lumine by the arm and hoists her up, rusted eyes twisted in a glare, and it squeezes- leaving said arm almost shattered.

And Lumine with an opportunity to strike. She emerges victorious and free to flee, but not without cost.

fuck this he outta here

[harmacy]

that's like, above average, right........ it's fine he's fine (probably) (hopefully) (just kidding i hope he suffers)

anyway yeah add is not even trying to fight that thing fuck this he can't dps, where's his tank, he's gonna hide in the bushes somewhere like the good ol days how's that working out for him

[sticksandbonesmods]

Add gets spotted several times throughout the night- and yet, be it his maneuvering through the grass and trees or his luck, he always manages to lose the jailer before it can descend upon him. He may even be able to approach a gate button, working together or perhaps even entirely alone to free a set of captives.

[kyokai]

closes my eyes
he'd been trying to run away and not die ('':

Flight flight flight

[lostpsalm]

rennuid got an 11! Thank you for giving me the chance to use the dice I bought specifically for him...yonks... ago..

You see a weird forest thing coming for you, you get AWAY from the weird forest thing coming for you, mama didn't raise no fool

ooo fancy d20s, they usually get d10s c:

[costae]

--Anyway, Kjell will attempt to play with the monster, via running away, though they are Not Fast and Not Agile, so if it gets too violent or handsy they are not above, uh, b-breathing fire at it to get it to back off. It's fine, right? Not like they're in the woods or anything.

Roll roll...!

FIGHT

[arrancar]

grimmjow is gonna FIGHT the monster bc he wants to fight. that's really it. he rolled a 14.

> Fight > Act > MERCY

[amhran]

Can Caoimhe choose MERCY, by which I mean can she make an attempt to talk to the strange being?

[deem]

9S and Add will be fighting when they get over being nerds here and since it looks like rolling d20s is the thing, looks like we got 18.

There's a math joke somewhere in here, I love rng, but anyway...