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onlinedragonsgame2022-10-28 02:24 pm
coboservice) wrote in onlinedragonsgame2022-10-28 02:24 pm
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EP.0 The Jump Event Experience
The Labyrinth of Ruin
You awake into darkness, surrounded by impossible geometry and an unnerving thrum that fills the still air. Strange shapes move in the distance, drifting between labyrinthine paths that bend and twist into an endless, senseless maze. Gravity seems to be a mere suggestion, and you'll quickly find that any surface is fine for walking on—sideways, upside down, it doesn't matter as long as you're not trying to make sense of it. In a world of raw chaos, the only rule that matters is your willingness to press on.
You're not alone in this world. There are others here, wanderers from distant realms just as confused as you are, and a few individuals who seem to know something of this place... although, they haven't exactly proven themselves helpful.
Mysterious Masked Man
Welcome to Henir's Time and Space! In this place, all timelines and dimensions are connected together from the beginning to end of the world. You can call me Glave. We weren't expecting this many guests, so you'll have to pardon the mess. It'll be taken care of soon, I assure you.
How do you get back? Are you in that much of a hurry...? Time doesn't apply here, so you should try to relax for now. It only feels like it's been five months because you keep thinking about it, you know.
The masked man's words are hardly reassuring, but perhaps it wouldn't hurt to humour a distraction or two, if you haven't already.
Breaking Point
At first, everything seems to just be falling in to Henir's Space... but overcrowding won't become an issue. As more and more outside entities pour into the realm, the strain on reality becomes too great. Cubes bow and bend, walkways collapse, and finally—
A crack.
Gravity shifts. Like a drain at the bottom of a tub, everything is sucked down into the hole. Cubes and structures unravel on the way down, leaving nothing for hapless adventurers to grab onto, and even the polygonal entities start to crumble away as the light below grows closer, closer... a blinding light that fades into soft moonlight, the sound of wind rustling through trees, an eerie pressure that settles in your chest.
As you fall away from the rift, below you is a vast sea of blue trees with a crimson-red tower and rocky wastelands visible in the distance. Above you, a dark sky with four battered moons.
It's quite a long way down. Luckily, the canopy of trees is more than thick enough to safely slow a fall, though it may not be the most comfortable landing.
Varnitas Eldimyr, the Guardian's Forest
Beneath the thick canopy is a deep, dark forest, lit by glowing mushrooms and alive with vibrant plantlife. The trees here are massive, with branches and leaves large enough to safely stand on, though you'd best grab onto something quickly if you don't want to fall to your death. If you do slip past the vines and foliage, try to land on one of the white-topped mushrooms—the blue energy wafting off is like landing on a trampoline, if trampolines were made of demonic energy.
You can hear the hum of insects, bird calls, a wolf-like howl, and... the stomping footsteps of something huge, casting shadows through the fog. Wherever this is, it's hardly more hospitable than the impossible labyrinth of Henir's Space.
That stifling pressure permeates the air, and those with supernatural powers will find that their abilities have been suppressed. Try as you might, your powers won't help you here—you'll have to rely on your body and wits to survive in this world.
Past the trees you can spy the lumbering beasts that shake the forest, though the smaller plants might prove the more dangerous obstacle. Practically everything is some amount of poisonous. Through the haze the tree trunks almost look like they're slithering. At least the water is normal.
Flora and Fauna
| Vine Plant | A demonic flower with dark purple petals surrounded by pale vines. If approached, it will lash out with its vines or release clouds of toxic fumes around itself. Breathing in these fumes will inflict intense physical symptoms, ranging from nausea and rashes up to suffocation and internal bleeding if too much is inhaled. Symptoms will linger, but fade after about an hour if you don't succumb to the poison or remain within the cloud. |
| Venom Plant | A demonic flower with dark blue leaves and a mace-like pistil covered in spikes. If approached, it will release a cloud of toxic fumes around itself. Breathing in these fumes will induce weakness and drowsiness, and remaining in the cloud for too long will cause vivid hallucinations up until loss of consciousness. Victims of this plant will remain comatose until they can be pulled away from the plant, or something else decides to make a meal out of them. |
| Pollen Plant | A demonic flower with pale white leaves and many blue filaments. If approached, it will release a cloud of toxic fumes around itself... wait, no, this one actually just releases a glowing pollen that heals minor cuts and injuries on contact. It's only toxic if you try to eat it. Unfortunately, they're almost always surrounded by the other types of plants, so maybe you should still approach with caution. |
| Spirit Vine | A luminescent vine that hides along the forest floor and springs up if you step on it. Its thorns are filled with a paralyzing poison that can briefly stun anything that's tangled in its grasp. More annoying than deadly on their own, but can quickly turn any situation south if you’re not paying attention. |
| Forginay | A large, vibrantly coloured flower that exudes a sweet scent. When approached, the flower will bloom... and then start attacking its prey with whip-like vines, constricting roots, and clouds of poison. Forginay always blooms in pairs, and the other poisonous plants of the forest will sprout and bloom in the mother plants' presence. If only one Forginay is destroyed it will draw strength from the remaining bloom to restore itself and grow even larger; both flowers must be destroyed simultaneously to prevent regrowth. Luckily, they are quite rare. |
| Dark Nephilim | Enormous, house-sized beasts that patrol the forest floor. They will attack anything unfamiliar on sight, ignoring the native creatures; luckily, each Nephilim only has one eye, which is located inside its mouth for some reason. They can use dark magic to fire eye lasers or summon spears of dark energy. Incredibly dangerous and difficult to kill. Evasive action is strongly recommended. |
| Mata | A wolf-like creature with glowing blue fur and a spiny tail. Fast, aggressive, and hunts in packs. Attacks by biting and swinging its tail. |
| Hati | A lion-like creature with a bright pink mane and stupidly long tail. It's howl creates a faint energy field that disrupts electronics and disorients those who pass through. Attacks by biting and pouncing. |
| Fae Panther | A large panther-like creature with black fur and curved horns. The smaller beasts of the forest will scatter if it claims their prey as its own. Dangerously persistent and difficult to kill. Claws and bites. |
Looking for something to eat? Not everything here is poisonous, but it's a bit of a gamble if you don't know what you can trust. To simulate this experience, you can play a round of foraging roulette.
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Vine, Venom or Pollen Plant. Inedible, inflicts mild to severe poisoning symptoms. |
| 2 | Flame Grass. Even if you douse it with water it will constantly burst back into flames. Surprisingly, it is edible even if it’s guaranteed to burn your mouth. Brews into an excellent tea that’s always warm. |
| 3 | Demon Fern. Wriggles endlessly even after being cut, cooked and eaten. No side-effects, aside from causing upset stomachs. |
| 4 | Demon Lemon. Yes, the eyeball moves. If you squeeze it too hard it cries salty juice. Despite all of these disturbing details, it tastes just like a normal lemon with a bit of salt in it. |
| 5 | Superhuman Apple. Tastes like a normal apple. Eating this will instantly restore your supernatural abilities to about half strength... for 10 seconds. If you want them for longer than that, you better start hoarding apples. Some of them are laced with aphrodisiacs instead. You horny fuckers behave yourselves. |
| 6 | Stone Apple. Hard as a rock. Also tastes like a rock. Eating this will turn off all pain receptors for a few minutes. It doesn't make you immune to injury or heal wounds, so be careful. |
| 7 | Yggdrasil Leaf. Tastes like a leaf. Bitter. When eaten, it instantly dispels all poisons and other plant-inflicted effects from the body, though you’d only know this if you made a bunch of poor food choices first. |
| 8 | Henir-Tainted Plant. Whatever plant it was before, it's now covered in the angular blue markings common in Henir's Space. Tastes like time, chaos, and whatever white jellybeans are supposed to be. Temporarily lose a random sense. If you eat it more than five times you will perceive the nature of the universe and life itself, but lose that comprehension as soon as the effects wear off. Horrible aftertaste. |
| 9 | Winter Wild Berry. Extremely cold and crunchy. If you lick it, it'll freeze to your tongue. Instantly turns any drink into a slushie. |
| 10 | Ancient Herb. The red berries are filled with a sweet honey. Delicious. |
Friendly Faces
Not far from where you arrived, you can make out a human-sized shadow standing in a clearing. As you approach the figure through the mist...
Shadowy Figure
I'm running a bit low on supplies, so you'll have to excuse the lack of stock for now... if you could help me gather supplies, I'd be happy to help you in any way I can.
Are you interested in fishing? I hear that fish in the Demon Realm can get quite ferocious. I have a few spare rods left if you'd like to try it. You can repay me by bringing something back.
 |
A hell of a catch! |
| Go fishing... in the Demon Realm! Varnimyr isn't known for it's fish and only has shallow streams and rivers, so anything you manage to catch will be quite small. Still, it's edible, right? Try to avoid the colourful, obviously toxic fish. REWARD: Free fishing rod and as many fish as you can catch. If you bring any fish back to Helen, she'll trade them for edible plants harvested from the area. |
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Remember to stop and smell the flowers |
| Replenish Helen's supplies by bringing her edible plants. She'll also take the poisonous ones, though she won't say what she'll use them for... see the foraging roulette above for details on local plantlife. REWARD: An equivalent serving of fish, healing potions, or any other goods she has on her. If you're not sure, ask! |
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Camping Essentials |
| So... does anyone here know how to start a fire? Make a shelter? Filter water so you don't get sick from drinking it later? This is kind of important, actually. Might wanna get on that. REWARD: Make this camping trip way more bearable for everyone. |
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Rescue Numerous Goods |
| People aren't the only things that've been pulled into this place from other worlds. Maybe if you look closely, you'll spot something familiar in the bushes? REWARD: One free gacha roll. |
There are others gathered here, though the masked man from before is nowhere in sight. Someone else catches your eye, a blue tail swaying behind him and sharp horns jutting from his head.
Blue-Robed Humanoid
My name is Denif. I’ve been working on a way to get out of here, though I haven’t had any luck yet. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about interdimensional travel, would you?
…a team-up? I suppose joining you would be wise. Very well – lead the way.
 |
Exiting Varnimyr |
| Apparently, you need to get back into Henir's Time And Space before you can go home. Try to find another rift so you can escape this spooky forest. REWARD: Regain access to Henir's Time And Space, unlock access to Elrianode, and Denif will deem you a little more reliable. Also, the game can actually open. |
Not-So-Friendly Faces
The woods seem endless from within, and the nephilims pacing amongst the trees create an uncomfortable perimeter. Rather than trying to escape, moving deeper into the forest is also an option. Sharp-eyed adventurers may be quick to spot the worn pathways lined by glowing mushrooms and shallow streams, though spirit vines also grow in great abundance along these routes. As the roads become more defined, so too do the orange lights flickering in the distant trees.
... Alas, this is where your progress must be cut short. An arrow whistles through the air, landing in the ground at your feet. Someone shouts down at you in an unfamiliar tongue. Should you ignore the warning, the second shot whizzes past your neck—you'd be wise not to tempt a third.
The archers are stationed high up in the trees, but you can make out the shape of a blue hood, dark skin covered by white cloth. Most of them are women, though the men's clothes are about as revealing. They're not hostile, per se, and they won't attack unprovoked, but it seems that entering this area is an act of provocation to them. Any attempts to intrude further will be met with harsh resistance.
Vigilant Sentinel
(Try as you might, they don't seem to understand what you're saying. Maybe there's something you can do to convince them you mean no harm? Sneaking doesn't seem to be an option, considering their home advantage. Or, failing that, you could try fighting your way through... but it's going to take a solid plan if you want it to work.)
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Outwit, Outplay or Outlast |
| Find a way into the Dark Elves' Outpost. It'd be nice if you could do it on friendly terms... but sometimes you have to butt heads if you want something done. REWARD: Access to the Outpost, which may provide additional help, clues or resources. |
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no subject
Maybe he should learn to carry a weapon on his person. Hm... nah.
Still, the size of the thing makes this a mite troublesome. While Rae makes an attempt to block, Denif's eyes scan for an opening. Achilles tendons, tail, back of the neck, eyes, undercarriage...
If the beast is distracted by Raelyn, that gives him a brief, slight opening to rush to the creature's back and latch onto its tail in some attempt to climb onto its back. Easier said than done, of course; muscular demon panthers wiggle quite a lot when tiny dragons latch onto them, and they squirm much more when said tiny dragon digs his claws in to get some semblance of a grip.
So the Demon Realm expedition is going well—]
no subject
As Denif manages to avoid the attack, Rae finishes closing the distance and strikes at the panther with a slash that connects with one of its forelegs. The cut made by this attack doesn't look like a particularly serious one, but it's enough to make the beast recoil slightly, giving her an opening to further press an attack on it, following her initial strike with a series of cuts and thrusts aimed for the head and chest, effectively demanding its attention for the moment and giving Denif the small opening he needs to start trying to climb onto it.
The dragon clawing his way onto the panther causes the latter to start moving somewhat-erratically—thrashing the tail around, doing full-body spins, and more—in some attempt to throw the former off. This leads to Raelyn starting to look for a new opening of her own in order to strike again, because getting slapped by that tail (or by Denif while he's holding onto it) is not something she plans on doing.]
no subject
The further he climbs onto the creature's back in an attempt to get to its eyes, the more it thrashes, at one point rearing up onto hind legs to try and shake him. Holding firm while also dangling at a ninety degree angle at one point, golden eyes attempt to find Rae on the ground. If he can meet her gaze successfully, he nods at her. It could be read as "everything's all good up here", which it... really isn't, but that's beside the point; or, it can be read as "strike while the undercarriage is exposed".
Denif, meanwhile, holds on for dear life. If he loses his hold now, the panther will have the upper hand again, and that's surely not ideal.]
no subject
The beast roars in response to this, coming back down to all fours and facing itself toward Raelyn directly. For a moment, it does nothing, but then, having deemed her a more-immediate threat and momentarily disregarding Denif as well as its own pain, it launches itself at her.
However, Rae, much like Denif, is tiny, and it's here that her size gives an advantage, letting her slip through an opening that others might have had some difficulty with. This leads to her being positioned directly beneath the panther, and her next move is one that is doubtlessly expected:
That spear is going straight up, toward the point where the three cuts have met.]
no subject
...who will rather quickly find that, as the panther yowls with pain, that she's about to get bathed in blood and offal as its abdomen ruptures thanks to the prior cuts weakening it. If that's not enough to prompt her to move, the duo will soon find that the panther lists to the side, dizzy from all of its injuries, stumbles once, twice, and then finally falls to the left and hits the ground with a dull thud. Denif manages to jump some distance away before he can fall and get squished, luckily.
The scent of gore is incredibly overwhelming. They're likely to find more trouble if they stick around too long — he can't imagine hungry beasts in this realm would pass up the opportunity for a free meal. First things first, though, he calls out to Rae—]
Are you alright?
no subject
Rae regards the fallen panther briefly, showing no real reaction to the smell. She's a bit used to it by now, as much of her time in the world she was in prior to any of this whole interdimensional incident had been spent fighting for one reason or another; in self-defense, to help or protect others, and so on.
She then looks to Denif when he calls to her.]
I'm fine, Master Denif, but what about you? [It looks to her like he's come out of this unscathed, but at the same time, the ride that the panther took him on certainly did not look pleasant.]
no subject
[Coming out of that with only a few bruises and gross, sticky panther blood on his hands is honestly the best outcome he could've hoped for. Side-stepping the big cat's corpse, he makes his way back over to Rae, flicking blood off of his fingertips.
A brief, thin smile graces his lips as he jokes,]
It seems we could both use a bath.
[Something that he could take care of without much preamble, were his magic working. Alas, conjuring a single bubble — probably the only thing he could properly create at this stage — isn't going to help anybody. Denif breathes out a light sigh, face falling back to something neutral, if tired.]
Let's move on from this place. I have a feeling scavengers will be upon the corpse soon, and I'd rather not stick around to become an appetizer.
no subject
On the subjects of both needing a bath and needing to move, she has one response of her own:] You're not going to hear any arguments from me there.
Would it be better for you to lead the way, though? I mean, in case something else decides to come up behind us. [That way, she'd be the one in more-immediate danger—with the point being that Denif is not—and she'd be able to respond to any such threats just that much quicker.]