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avalaughs2022-01-31 06:40 pm
TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 16
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A ⦿ Soaking in Your Arrival
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The icy water doesn't feel so icy once consumed and you'll be able to move your limbs enough to swim to shore on your own. She can't stick around to explain, she's got to get this to all the new arrivals! Many of which you'll see plopping in around you. | |
B ⦿ The Caravan to Camelot
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Once everyone is wrangled up to the top of the White Cliffs, the handsome owner of the Rent-a-Ride, Archimedes, will distribute smart phones and a pair of ear buds and tell them to "Check the Shit Box." The "Shit Box" refers to wardrobe more formally known as the Wardrobe of Finding, a hammerspace-like wardrobe that opens to each person's items and pets when the person touches the handle. It was recently enchanted by Merlin to prevent people from having to fish their waterlogged possessions and pets out of the water with them. From there, Archimedes directs everyone to settle in groups into modernized carriages pulled by horses and gives them a basic explanation of why and how they've been brought to Avalon: The rest of the universe is frozen in time and your character has been brought here by a familiar that was able to bond with them. They'll have to learn magic to help save their own world from destruction, but first they've got to get them to Camelot. It is here that you have the first opportunity to decide who they will be in their new home. You'll have about an hour to wander around here, meet and greet, and pet the horses before it's time to go. |
These carriages use fae technology that combats weight, so your character will be able to get in regardless of whether they're light as a feather or weigh two tons. The carts have air conditioning when it's hot, heating when it's cold, and a mystical shield to protect from bugs. There is also a mini-bar that pops out of the console, with a special feature for warm winter drinks like hot apple toddy and butter beer. Characters can use their smartphones to connect to Camelot's internet service, avalononline (AOL), to chat with other characters, watch dumb videos, learn about the world, contact Camelot Support (they'll answer any questions they can for you, from how to use a smart phone to where to find quests and resources to learn more about your magic). Be careful if you decide to use your phones while in the caravan-- if you don't use those earbuds and start forcing everyone to listen to your nonsense, Archimedes may make you walk. | |
C ⦿ The Red Spring | |
The journey from the White Cliffs to the City of Camelot is a long one, and the first evening you arrive you'll end up spending at the Red Spring, a booming resort town. Newcomers get free inn rooms for their one night stay on the way to Camelot, containing two twin beds, a bathroom, a mini-fridge and microwave, and a TV equipped with a couple of entertaining video games and movies. Don't want to relax in the room? Take a dip in the communal hot spring. The waters have restorative properties that help horses and travelers recover quickly. It is known to relieve stress, improve energy levels, and mildly accelerate healing. It may be a little chilly when you get out though, so make sure you don't slip rushing back indoors when you get out! |
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Those who listened to the Fae Queen last time have made it clear to her who is going to trust her when they are given the chance willingly and who is going to defy her. Was it a fair system that only measured trust and wasn't swayed by peoples' ability to figure out her riddles? No, certainly not. Fairies don't care, nor have they done much to give the impression that they don't care about the trivialities of human subtleties. But there is a new batch coming in, and before she shares the information she promised, she needs to see where upon her line they lie. I beckon thee to wither's tree, Where widows often cry, A poisoned place of death's embrace North selkie's weary eye. You seek the prick whose corpse makes rot, And rot begot those life forgot, 'Fore the questing beast slips by. The riddle is presented to all in the form of a dream with a magical compelling not to forget the words, nor to ignore them. There do seem to be two main parties forming based on clues within the riddle, resulting in different possible adventures and proof-of-completion items. |
A ⦿ The Dragon's Graveyard | |
| Welcome to the Land of Rot! Home of banshees (crying widows!?), where nothing living can really survive except things like zombies, skeleton warriors, and so on. Get past all that to the northernmost area of the Land of Rot (or, where is the northernmost now after the collapse of the Ash Mountain took out part of it) and you'll find The Dragon's Graveyard. It's not a traditional cemetery, but the land seems to have been landscaped into an open pit mine. It's clearly not active, leaving huge bones and fossils of skeletons sticking out of the walls. There's a lot of dried blood dying the dirt a copper-y color, and it's unclear what happened in this portion of the Land of Rot, but it clearly wasn't pleasant. Draconic Wraiths run freely around the Dragon's Graveyard-- the unsettled beasts created from the mass slaughter of dragons during the age of dragon slaying. |
With the world having been rocked by the death of a dragon for the first time in centuries, despite it being within the rules of this world, they are particularly vicious and unwilling to spare any lives. They cannot be touched by physical weapons and can only be fought with magic. However, if they run through your character, they will immediately plunge into a hypothermic state and will need an immediate healer to undo the damage or a siphoner to remove the Wraith's curse and stop the damage from getting worse. Going three days without a healer or siphoner will result in your character dying! What's more, your character will see a vision of their own death in the future upon the moment of contact.
They do seem to be guarding something at the center of the pit: a broken ceremonial sword with dried blood on it. Perhaps this is the "prick" the queen meant? The sword itself seems immensely heavy and impossible to carry on your own, so bring it back as a group effort and decide where it should go. A bit of asking around and someone will be able to identify this as a sword called "Clarent." | |
B ⦿ Well, Sssssshit | |
The Forest of the Fisher King seems to be another popular interpretation of the riddle. After all, the "prick whose corpse makes rot" could definitely refer to the Fisher King, whose body is rumored to be buried within the forest. I hear that guy's whole story is that his wife stabbed him in the leg with the holy lance because he cheated on her and she didn't want him to be able to die or have kids ever again- definite prick! |
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Turns out, if you manage to get past the spores and get your friends free of it to go deep enough in, even the ground itself will try to swallow you up! Quick sand only takes moments to try to pull you under. Better hope you came with a friend to pull you out. The more you resist, the more likely it is to kill you! Though, everything in the forest is dead or thriving off of death anyway, and with a stroke of luck you'll see a snake slither right down in (or maybe you stopped by the Archivist before you wandered in single brain cell first). | |
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For those who are less adventurous, don't worry. There are ways to test their dedication and trust as well. Before the parties leave for their determined destinations, everyone is sent a lock from the fairy queen with a simple note: Slice your sobriquet upon this seal, Secure our sprouting solidarity. Shackle it at the stockade. Sing sayonara to the key. |
A ⦿ Trust Trinkets | |
There's no explanation as to what it will do attached, so it boils down to choosing whether or not to trust the fairy queen. Very, very simple. Well, if you can figure out which stockade it's referring to. As it turns out, in Nicnevin there is a bridge that crosses the shores of its moat that can only be seen by those who have been granted permission by the fairy queen. Etching a name into the lock, be it real or nickname or initials, will automatically transport you to the start of it. It contains myriad locks attached to it, and there are thousands of keys glittering in the water beneath them. The key to the lock is cursed- failure to discard it in the river will result in a curse falling upon your character. Your character broke an agreement with the fairy queen by taking the key with them despite accepting her invitation and instructions by taking the lock to her bridge and now they must pay the price. |
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Now they will find that they are unable to open or enter any door without getting someone else to give them an invitation through it. This curse will remain until they find a siphoner to remove it... so you definitely may have some immediate struggles in this new world! | |
B ⦿ Pretty Pleases | |
| Don't know a siphoner? Don't you worry, there's a wizard right there in Nicnevin who can help you out! The half-fairy, half-vampire wizard, Speculoo-- master of the dark, dark, evil artes! An escapee from the fae prison, he'll be approaching anyone who seems to have been cursed by the fairy queen to offer them the deal of a lifetime. Speculoo offers them a potion black as tar and tells them to drink up. Drink the potion and Speculoo will explode into a poof of dust and let out a maniacal cackle-- a pixie! Seriously, you thought you could bamboozle the fairy queen just like that? The pixie's potion will cause you to be unable to resist commands from any person as long as they say "please." Time to teach you some manners!
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Either live with this curse, or offer your name to the fairy queen to have her remove it. Don't trust her and try to skate past her punishment right under her nose and you'll find yourself with little choice but to. | |
• All test drive prompts are open to anyone in the game at any time to create your own logs with, as the events within are considered game canon. |
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[ Her ears flick, though she sighs aloud, a bit dramatically. ]
You would think after pulling me here, they'd let me stay back home longer, but nay, 'tis always a return... at least, I was with mine children during Starlight.
[ She's now walking backwards up the stairs, watching Alfonse closely. ]
Gaius cooks a lot here, too. I'm certain he'll want to spoil you as soon as he finds you're here! He even made... ah, vatrushka! He told me he'd make it for you all when you were younger. Mine own former husband cooks well too, for a hrothgar!
[ And she steps back with a little jump, beckoning to him to follow towards the carriages, once they're at the top. ]
By the way, you'll stay with him, won't you? I'll have a room ready once we head to Camelot, so tell me all you'll need! And if you've any hurts- let me know! I'm a healer and medic, myself!
[ She wiggles her ears at him, clearly excited to let Gaius know his son's here- even if she imagines it'll be a sad reunion knowing what they do, but. Suppose it's better they have it sooner than later. ]
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[He… he had nearly forgotten that. When was the last time he’d even had his father’s vatrushka? It earned another audible complaint from his stomach, and he was really starting to feel the ravenous hunger gnawing at him. Seven hells he hoped they might have some leftovers.
Ah, there were words after “vatrushka”, he needed a moment to mentally catch up before replying.]
I-I really don’t need much. Just a bed, and somewhere to put my clothes.
[He avoided the question about his well-being, there was an injury nagging at him, but it wasn’t anything he wanted his father to know about. If this woman was not only friend but a parent as well he has his doubts about her keeping such a thing from his father.]
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He's Gaius' family, after all. ]
You're a quiet one, aren't you? Strong and stoic. Suppose you do match Gaius that way.
[ It's said fondly, and she gestures for him to sit. ]
It won't be too long from here! You'll love the springs, too. They can soothe just about anyone! Do you like flowers at all, Alfonse?
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[Said without the faintest bit of humor. In true sibling fashion, this was such a normal fact of life that he had long resigned himself to that he was unaware that it might be amusing to others. He loved his brother dearly of course, but his brother seemed to have a personal grudge against quiet.]
I suppose so? I don’t dislike them? They just don’t serve much of a purpose.
[Werlyt had a fair amount of flowers, he had been fond of as a child, but didn’t pay them much mind after he was conscripted. He had too much else on his mind.]
smooshes his cheeks '3'
I'm the one who talks most among our family- though if you get mine younger brother talking about anything at the ironworks, he won't shut up for bells.
[ But, she reaches up and gives him a poke to his cheek when he says that. ]
Don't serve a purpose? I'll have you know flowers help you every day! I've green magic here, so I can make them grow quite well. Magic here isn't the same as it is back home, so you may probably have abilities you haven't yet discovered now! A pity we haven't seen your familiar yet, though... they usually help with the magics here.
[ She wiggles her ears, tilting her head to look him over. ]
What about animals? Which one's your favourite?
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I-I didn't think you were talking about the useful ones!
[At least he'd never heard anyone answer something like "onions" or "that foul tasting weed that smells like a wet chocobo but can cure a headache"... he supposed there was no rule saying he couldn't either though.]
Animals? [He looks a little frazzled trying to come up with a better answer than he did for flowers. The first "animal" that came to mind was the diamond weapon without its armor.] Dogs I guess? [Wait, wait no, that was foolish. He needed something that wasn't the first vaguely animal shape that sprung to mind. She said favorite animal not name an animal.] I liked fish as a child, I thought their scales were pretty, but Allie hated them...
[So by Big Brother Rules he was Not Allowed to like them anymore. So he just settled on liking to eat them instead. It made sense to him as a child, and he hasn't had to think about how odd that actually was until now.
Maybe he should try to find a new favorite food. Crab or chicken something.]
I... honestly haven't given it much thought in a while. Allie liked goobbue though, a-and Ricon liked frogs. Millisandia liked horses, and Rex liked anything that smelled weird... and bugs.
[Because listing his siblings likes should make up for his own poor answer, right?]
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Think if I went with mine original plan to turn into something you'd like, you'd probably end up terrified. I can turn into animals. Thought you'd enjoy seeing something you actually liked for a spell. But a fish would be difficult...
[ She reaches for a little plush charm on her bag, shaped like a chocobo chick and unclips it to hold it out for him. ]
What about chocobo? I know people around Othard and Ilsabard haven't seen all that many, but they're rather common around Eorzea.
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[That had been all it was about. Well, perhaps he over reacted a bit, still he wasn't used to being greeted with so many questions. He always tended to be more quiet and softspoken, unless he had his siblings to speak for. Even then Rex tended to beat him to the punch most often. It was... a very odd shift in dynamic to suddenly be thrust into a conversation like this without at least one of his siblings near.]
I... saw a carriage with them once when I was small. I liked them alright I think? They seem like useful animals?
[He looked at the offered charm, then back to her, then back to the charm confused. Was he to... take it?]
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[ She smiles warmly, ears wiggling a bit. It's something she knows she needs to navigate carefully, knowing what she does through Gaius, and she knows she can't push him to tell her more than he is already.
He doesn't even know her, as it is. ]
Consider it a welcoming present, so you should keep it on you. A chocobo charm means you'll have plenty of wonderful adventures, you know!
[ She made up little stories behind the charms she made! ]
Promise me you won't lose it?
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[And he carefully takes the charm. Wonderful adventures she says, while he currently feels like adventuring would be the last thing in the world he'd like to do, he knows it's unlikely he'll settle down. His skillset tends to lend itself to combat, and something tells him that 21 is too young to retire.
Regardless, he's going to be so thrilled the moment he gets to a bed.]
Thank you miss.
[He wasn't sure what else to say, he rarely if ever dealt with individuals such as her. He was more used to people barking orders, or the stoic and to-the-point way his father was. Such boundless enthusiasm and happiness from the woman before him was... a bit nerve-wracking.]
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Others have gone through worse, and from all she's seen, her troubles are nothing compared to what all these heroes and stronger folk have been through. If she can bring them some comfort, she wants to be able to. ]
No need to be that polite, lad! Call me Megumi! 'tis a pretty name and I like to hear it. [ Her ears wiggle. ] And I should like to hear yours more often, too. Now come, let's find you something to eat and you can go find Gaius! Though knowing him, he'll likely find you first!
[ She'll take care of Alfonse before letting him on his way. ]
And you'd best let me know as soon as you've any hurts at all, or I'll be very, very sad, aye? I'm not a healer for my good looks, you know!
[ She puffs her cheeks in a pretend-pout, before smiling and motioning him over once they've gotten to the inn- food beckons, and she's not going to have them wait! ]
Let's be off, Alfonse!