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

[deem]

[ Fortunately, the box understands this gesture! Probably. It curls its little pronged fingers into a semblance of a fist and gently bumps Ace's hand, then waits in expectant silence. That was what he was prompting, right? ]

[donfire]

[Ace looks at it for a bit, and laughs.]

Pretty close!

[He lowers his hand, crossing his arms in front of his chest, worried.]

So... Are you part of the kid or something?

[deem]

[ The machine evidently understands the question, responding in a staccato of beeps and waving its arms about in a manner clearly meant to illustrate something. Without the words though, it's not quite certain what the reply actually is.

But it's sure trying to have a chat with this nice man. ]

[donfire]

[Ace is so confused. There's a game somewhere in the island he lived in that had to do with guessing gestures, so maybe, just maybe, if he asks this box to gesture instead of... Beeping? Answering? maybe he can figure it out.]

Ok, here's the deal.

[He takes a seat on the bed, too tired to stay standing.]

Try to mimic what you want to say, like this is Sleep [He mimics the actions of someone going to sleep] and this is Waking Up [again, mimics the actions of someone waking up.] can you do that? I'll try to guess what you want to say!

[deem]

[ There comes another succession of beeps which presumably is a very invovled answer. Luckily the boy on the floor suddenly jerks into motion. It's stiff, almost mechanical... And then it passes as the boy examines his hands and the box-like machine turns to hover over him, one little pronged hand smoothing some hair back into place. ]

Didn't find anything strange, but that doesn't explain—

[ He pauses, turning to regard the man on the bed. With his eyes covered, this is only evidenced by the fact that he turns his head. ]

Oh, uh. Hello?

[donfire]

[Ace listens to the beeping and sighs. This will go nowhere.

But he almost jumps when the boy moves. He didn't feel a presence stirring or anything of the sort! Also the boy is creepy. How can he see?!]

Hi... I was trying to talk to your beeping box, but that went nowhere.

[deem]

Oh, that's pod. Until recently, it was controlled by another unit, so...

[ Its speech functions weren't on the level of Pod 153. He wonders, not for the first time, just what had happened to it.

There is no way of knowing that answer. ]

Anyway, did you need something, sir?

[donfire]

[Pod. Right.]

I wanted to know if it was ok to sleep here.

[He's already sitting on the bed, but gotta ask anyway!]

[deem]

[ 9S kind of wanted that comfy bed for himself, he likes being comfy, but this guy is clearly a human.

How could he deny a human comfiness? ]

I think so? There's nothing saying you can't, anyway.

[donfire]

I thought you were going to use it, but seeing you sleeping on the floor made me ask.

[Ace yawns and blinks a couple of times.]

Are you not tired from sleeping there?

[deem]

Oh, I wasn't sleeping. I was performing maintenance.

[ Said casually with a smile, like that's an absolutely normal and mundane thing for a guy to do.

You know, as one does. ]

[donfire]

Main...tenace?

[Isn't that what machines do? To be fair, he's not very used to machinery but he knows that's what happens.]

What?

[deem]

I needed to run some diagnostics, that sort of thing.

[ You know, normal stuff. ]

[donfire]

Diagnostics?

[Wait-]

Are you human?

[deem]

Oh, no. Of course not — although androids are made in Mankind's image.

[ It is at once a compliment to be asked such a thing, and somehow deeply wrong. YoRHa were programmed with an inherent sense of inferiority, an awareness that they should not imitate Mankind too closely. ]

[donfire]

Of course.

[OF COURSE?! that's beyond weird! He's never seen an android, much less one that looks and acts and sounds human!]

You are interesting. What's your name?

[deem]

I'm a 9S unit, sir. So you can just call me 9S.

[ It'd be presumptuous to ask a human to call him Nines, and besides... It brings up memories. ]