Tunnel Spooktober 2017

[Rebonack]

It turns out that just wanting the on-screen avatar to do something results in the respective actions. Also, the device is a toaster. Because they've released Skyrim for basically every other platform already, right?

"When the battery starts getting low you just have to find a new piece of toast to feed it," the guy explains. "It'll detoast the bread to power itself."

That...

That doesn't make any sense.

At all, really.

But hardly the weirdest thing to grace the Nexus in recent days.

"Thanks again for the ring! I'll need to finish up a few more tests real quick before those alligators take over the house boat. I'm sure you understand," he says as he moves to begin searching for another quest to complete. For whatever reason, completion of a quest has caused a hovering 'bar inventory' to appear next to his sack, which now includes a ring that does not, in fact, look anything like the ring he was just given. Said inventory then flips back over, vanishing from view. He takes a few steps away before pausing suddenly.

"Wait. No, not a house boat. It isn't snowing any ash. This was... a dungeon crawl party?" he says aloud, his appearance briefly flickering like a bad DVD artifact. "Right. Dungeon crawl party. Gotta keep this straight. Don't want to jump straight from one scene to another before this is finished, it's been interesting. Just... c'mon, focus." The flickering dies down as quickly as it began and he smiles back at Jack. "Right, right. So! What sort of dungeon partying is going on, anyway? I don't think I remember this song."

[Halae]

Legend of Cookies

The only Zelda games I've played are Phantom Hourglass (where I got stuck) and Twilight Princess, which is one of the very few games I've actually completed. But I haven't played either in ages, so mistakes are likely. Oh, and I unlocked everyone but Jigglypuff on Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but I don't know if that counts.

"I think Link did, didn't he? I haven't completed my Zelda game, so I don't know if the bad guy wins." She also can't remember what game it is, so her player doesn't have to state which one. "I'm not dressed as Link, though. So I guess a faerie will do." Natalie gestures, and one of her accompanying fey zips forward to hover just in front of Sam's face, and blow a raspberry at him. Natalie counts on that to distract Sam long enough for her to get closer and snag a biscuit. Possibly Sherrel, too, if Zelda wants rescuing.[/COLOR]

[Legend of Cookies]

The princess is part of the set, sadly, so she can't get rescued. But she'll slip a small bag of treats to the little hero when she passes by - a couple chocolate bars should compliment the cookies nicely.

[Deathkeeper]

Legend of Cookies

"Nu-uh!" Sam insists, though he doesn't stop Natalie from her theft besides waving his pitchfork menacingly at her.
"Curse you!!" he bellows.

[Earl of Purple]

Legend of Cookies

Natalie giggles as she takes her looted sweets and snacks, before skipping off, her faeries zipping after her. "Curses don't stick to faeries! Thank you, Zelda!" is provided as a parting gift, though its accuracy likely depends on the type of faerie and exactly what is doing the cursing.

Meanwhile, Skydaw at the Stage

Jack puts her new toy away, though she'll likely be playing with it later. "Yes, a dungeon crawl party. Because of All Hallow's Eve later this month. There's music, and stuff. A table of food, some specially designed for the party, others looking less fun. Guests, too, though not too many yet, it seems." Jack is slightly disconcerted by the flickering, and isn't familiar with badly recorded DVDs or other filmographic media. "I haven't been here too long, so I don't know fully what's available, besides food and dancing." She's noted the food, and will likely go to investigate it further later, but right now there's music and someone talking to her.

[Rebonack]

Yes.

Someone talking to her.

Who is certainly, without question, a guy.

A guy in a dovakin cosplay, since that was thematically relevant for the party. He just has to make sure that he's still on board with what's going on here, as scenarios are easy to lose track of sometimes. He gives her a sagely nod. "Okay, good. That's what I thought. I'll be level with you, here. I'm dreaming right now. And I keep dreaming about this-"

He gestures around.

"-nameless city and all the odd people and places in it. Not to say you aren't real! Just... I'm not. I might be an astral projection. Or something. I honestly have no idea how it works, but I guess it does. And I just walked down here in costume because that was thematically fitting, probably. There isn't always a very clear progression of logic when it comes to dreams. If I start getting less lucid or whatever, feel free to belt me upside the head to get me back on track. I'm about eighty five percent sure at this point that this city is not in fact in the Dreamlands anywhere. This is more like... when Randolph Carter dreamed himself all the way to another planet, I think? I dunno. I have no idea why I'm telling you all this, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about."

With a sigh, he pulls a cheese wheel out of his bag and takes a bite out of it.

"I've been here a few days. I... think? Time is hard to keep track of. Normally I can wake up again pretty easily, but blinking isn't working."

[Morty]

Karen is quite proud of herself cleverly figuring that one out.
But before proceeding onward, she stares a moment at the place where the shark disappeared. Was that a real ghost? You don't see those everyday.

Karen eventually reaches a small cave, with a door on the other end. Between her and the door there is tiled floor, with eight tiles across and eight tiles wide. They alternate between white and black. There are two keys hanging from the ceiling above each side of the floor, and the door seems to have two locks. One key seems to have a horse-shaped figurine attached to it, while the other has a bishop's hat.

[Earl of Purple]

"Randolph Carter... Is he a relation of John Carter of Mars?" Which is a book I'd like to read, if I can motivate myself into finding a copy. I have seen the movie, however, and remember enjoying it, though I was trying not to watch it and therefore can't remember the full sequence of events as it started whilst I was on my laptop. But the reference seems valid, and books are far more portable than computers, and don't need too much of a technological base to enjoy the full benefits thereof. Which is handy, as Jack's tribe import all their technology and don't have an electrical hook-up. "The city isn't nameless, by the way. It's called Inside, because it encompasses everything 'inside' the city walls. Although I can see that as being dream logic. Do you ever have dreams where you're underwater but can still breath and move easily?" Jack's not as human as she looks, and has the ability to fly naturally. Dreaming about it, therefore, tends to be quite realistic; but she can't swim.

[Rebonack]

The guy looks thoughtful for a moment. "That's... actually a pretty good comparison between the Carters. Jack astral projected to Mars, so I guess he technically wasn't really there either? But otherwise, no. I don't think they're related. Though now that I think about it, my situation is probably a bit more similar to Jack's than it was to Randolph's. Mostly since I didn't have a giant space-squid stuff my mind into an alien's body. Since this isn't an alien's body. It's just me-"

The guy- Oh wait.

That's not a guy.

That's some sort of weird bat-wyvern-person thing. Or was he like that the whole time and it just wasn't noticeable? He certainly didn't change form at all. If someone with an eye for magic were watching, there wasn't any illusion or transmutation involved at all. He's just both a human and not a human simultaneously, with one side of the coin being obvious and the other less-so.

Regardless! He's still generally humanoid-shaped with large, three fingered hands. The OTHER two fingers are elongated and currently clamped tight against his arms, ready to unfurl into wings at any moment. His legs are the digitigrade dinosaur-dragon sort you would expect to go along with a long, slightly flattened tail ending in a broad spade. His face is at once mammalian and reptilian, leaning a bit more toward 'reptile' with his nose and 'mammal' with his mouth. Usually lizards don't have lips with which to grin too-wide Cheshire-cat grins full of too-white teeth. That face is framed by long, mobile, elliptical ears and a jagged set of dorsal plates starting small at the crown of his head before growing much larger along his upper back before gradually tapering off again as they run down his tail. Between the plates blue-black mist swirling, tendrils of it wisping between his teeth.

Oh. And he's also fuzzy. Dark brown streaked with rusty red. Where scales show through, they're the same slate-grey as his spines.

He's also no longer wearing the iron armor cosplay. Instead, he's wearing a foam rubber hat shaped like Alduin's curvy horns along with a dragon-y chest piece. The rest of him already looks the part, so why bother?

"-and also me. Which also happens to be easier to utilize than normal? Typically I need a really good excuse for flying," he briefly unfurls his wings, careful not to knock off anyone's hat. "Or at least the claws for climbing a tree. And... huh... actually I don't recall ever dreaming about swimming. Ever. Hmm... tons of dreams that involve the ocean. A few wading through rivers. But for the life of me, I don't recall any where I had to actually swim. Like... I can think of several dreamscapes I've visited where I've hopped across rocks. And one I've been to dozens of times at the bottom of a trail through an aspen forest where there's this huge grey cliff-face with a waterfall flowing into a river that I wade around in..."

He seems thoughtful about that, staring up at the ceiling and mouthing something, his ears twitching this way and that as his eyes fall into motions not unlike REM. After a moment or two he shakes his head. "Two. Maybe three? Where I was crossing a river and got knocked over by the current and started tumbling. But I flew out. I didn't swim. Let alone under water. And I swam all the time when I was awake. Is that weird? Do you dream about swimming and breather under water often?"

[Ashen Lilies]

"Whatever it is, I'm glad. I rather enjoy having her around. Music aside, her costume is... impressive, wouldn't you say?" He looks up at Electra, before returning his eyes to Cassandra. "So is yours, too. Did you dye your hair for it?"

The presence of more people surrounding the stage gives Electra some renewed energy, and the number of people increasing means she should try and give the music a bit more spooky of an air. She starts off with a relatively quick number, then slows it down some for the next couple of songs, before picking things back up again. She grins at both Cassandra and Fayyaad when they look up to her, but others will probably note the grin persisting. Clearly, she's enjoying herself, and that energy is conveyed through the music as she plays.

Cassandra frowns briefly as Fayyaad looks away, seeming to either disapprove of Electra's costume - or maybe just the attention Fayyaad is paying to it. That's quickly done away with though, and long before anyone is looking back towards her, she's smiling as if nothing had happened.
"No," she says, reaching up and toying with a few strands of her now snowy hair. "On both counts, actually. I used magic, not dye, and it's for some business of MERC's, not for the costume."

[Felandria]

"There's puzzles and such in the tunnels. Seems to be a thing for kids, though," Iknika says. "The MERC people seem to be providing them."

Yeah, I saw that.

I wish I was able to do stuff like that when I was a kid.

Ah well.

She absentmindedly noms a Kit Kat.

Anyway, if you ever want a sparring partner, just let me know.

[Morty]

Cassandra frowns briefly as Fayyaad looks away, seeming to either disapprove of Electra's costume - or maybe just the attention Fayyaad is paying to it. That's quickly done away with though, and long before anyone is looking back towards her, she's smiling as if nothing had happened.
"No," she says, reaching up and toying with a few strands of her now snowy hair. "On both counts, actually. I used magic, not dye, and it's for some business of MERC's, not for the costume."

Fayyaad is blissfully unaware of Cassandra's jealousy, but he doesn't ogle Electra for too long. Instead, he raises his eyebrows, as he looks back to Cassandra.

"MERC business? Now you have me curious, but the kind of business that requires you to look differently tends to be the kind you're not supposed to talk about." He recognizes that, at least. "It's a good look on you, though. White hair and dark skin makes for a fascinating combination." He raises his arms. "Fashion magic isn't my forte, so I went with a fire theme again. Attaching ribbons to your outfit isn't as great an idea as it sounds, though."

Yeah, I saw that.

I wish I was able to do stuff like that when I was a kid.

Ah well.

She absentmindedly noms a Kit Kat.

Anyway, if you ever want a sparring partner, just let me know.

Iknika peers up at Felandria.

"Well... that might be a good idea. I should learn how to fight with people who are a lot bigger than I am. Koshal's mostly human-sized and all my cousins are goblins. Plus they're wimps, anyway. Except Brinika, but she's too tiny."

[McBish]

Chailyn considers the dance floor and shakes her head. "Well the dance floor looks full of old people. Lets go see what kind of things they have in these tunnels." She says making up her mind and reaching to pull Khannie by the hand to pull her towards the side tunnels. She will definitely be looking to get into places that are off limits. But she isn't likely to get into any of those and will probably be funneled into the puzzles and stuff set up for kids.

[Recaiden]

Karen eventually reaches a small cave, with a door on the other end. Between her and the door there is tiled floor, with eight tiles across and eight tiles wide. They alternate between white and black. There are two keys hanging from the ceiling above each side of the floor, and the door seems to have two locks. One key seems to have a horse-shaped figurine attached to it, while the other has a bishop's hat.

A checkerboard!
Or, no, wait, a chessboard, with those two key-pieces up there.
Karen scowls at the board. Chess is a boring game. But, uh, the knight went here...
She hops onto one of the matching spaces, guessing that the trick is to get from here to there only moving the way the pieces can move themselves. No thought is given as to whether left or right is the better starting place.

[Morty]

[Puzzles]

Moving like a knight gets Karen to the first key. Can she now cross the board again, this time while moving like a bishop?

[Earl of Purple]

"Quite often I dream of swimming. It's odd, I rarely dream of flying, but humans say that's something they do quite often. I'm not as human as I look, though I don't look as human as usual now. I'm a shifter. Not human, not jackdaw, but something in between. I can take either shape, or mix and match like I'm doing now, for the bird-feet and some of the feathers." But she's notably not a human that turns into a jackdaw, nor a jackdaw that turns into a human. Shifter also isn't what they call themselves, but the name their human neighbours use, as a catch-all for her tribe and others like them. "I don't swim, otherwise. Can't, really. I'm not a waterbird, and I never learnt the human method." She can't generate the oil used by ducks to keep their feathers dry, so her bird-shape would soak through and leave her unable to fly and looking very bedraggled. And cold.

[Rebonack]

"Actually, scratch that, once when I was... I dunno... six? I think? I swam down this deep tunnel that only looked like it was puddle from the surface. Think I might have drowned in the dream," the guy muses. "But otherwise I don't really dream of swimming. I think I might technically count as a fae sort of thing and fae usually have some really arbitrary rules about what they can and can't do. I didn't start dreaming about being like this-"

He gestures to his currently not at all human looking form.

"-until after the puddle-pool of doom dream, so maybe that's why?"

Another shrug.

"Oh! So you're sort of two things at the same time? Or... I guess not really either of those things at once? I guess that's kinda the situation I'm in, but I don't really deal in shades of grey. It's either human or... umm," he glances down at himself, then makes a vague gesture with one arm. "Whatever it is I'm supposed to be. Some kind of wyvern, I guess? I have the creeping feeling I got the general body shape from Rodan. I used to love Godzilla and pals when I was a kid."

A beat.

"I still do. But I also used to. It kind of explains the dorsal plates. And the breath-weapon," he muses aloud, glancing over a shoulder at his back. "Doesn't explain why I'm not ginormous, though. Ah well. Just another mystery."

Then he grins a Cheshire cat grin. "Oh, human style swimming is pretty easy. You spread your arms out and kick your legs back and forth to make yourself float. It's slow and looks pretty hilarious compared to any animal actually built to swim, but it's a serviceable alternative to drowning."

Meanwhile!

Khannie is taken by the hand and begins following her new 'friend' without word.

It's so much more fun just letting someone else decide everything for her, yes indeed.

[Felandria]

Fayyaad is blissfully unaware of Cassandra's jealousy, but he doesn't ogle Electra for too long. Instead, he raises his eyebrows, as he looks back to Cassandra.

"MERC business? Now you have me curious, but the kind of business that requires you to look differently tends to be the kind you're not supposed to talk about." He recognizes that, at least. "It's a good look on you, though. White hair and dark skin makes for a fascinating combination." He raises his arms. "Fashion magic isn't my forte, so I went with a fire theme again. Attaching ribbons to your outfit isn't as great an idea as it sounds, though."



Iknika peers up at Felandria.

"Well... that might be a good idea. I should learn how to fight with people who are a lot bigger than I am. Koshal's mostly human-sized and all my cousins are goblins. Plus they're wimps, anyway. Except Brinika, but she's too tiny."

You always want to be prepared for any kind of opponent.

Whether it's someone as big as me or someone as tiny as Brinika.

You never want to underestimate an enemy.

[Earl of Purple]

"I'm not human, nor a jackdaw. I just look like one. Or the other, or I mix and match. I don't do that too often, though. It creeps humans out, a little, and it doesn't serve too much purpose. I'm too big to fly easily at this size, and I can't carry anything if my arms are wings. And the feet are OK for gripping things, but aren't good for fine tasks, and either hold or don't. They aren't so good at gentle." So she's neither, both at once.

"I haven't had much dealings with fae. Probably a good thing, too. We aren't diggers, my people. The technology we have, we bought. On our own, without trade, we'd be in the stone age. And happy with it, too. Shelter isn't too hard to find for us, nor is food. And most predators that would go after a jackdaw won't go after a human, and anything that would go after a human can't fly. As it is, we buy tools and sell lucky charms, feather pillows, and some wood carvings, and occasionally hire ourselves out as scouts, explorers or messengers." So they're pretty vulnerable, since they don't forge their own iron or steel, but with their native abilities and inherent claustrophobia, they didn't have the desire to find anything better.

"I probably should learn to swim, then. If it's pretty easy. But I'm afraid I don't know what Godzilla or Rodan are." Though she has a rough idea for Rodan, based on what the guy has said.

[Rebonack]

"Oh, so sorta of like a jackalwere, then?" the guy muses aloud. "I guess they aren't technically a jackal. Or a human. Or a mix of both if they feel like it. They're just their own thing that happens to resemble both."

Okay.

He's got it now!

"So mostly hunter-gatherer foraging sort of stuff? There are still some humans that stick to that, though they mostly live out in really remote areas that haven't had much contact with populations that figured out how to get the science and technology feedback look rolling. I suppose there's nothing wrong with that, but personally I think I prefer heated houses and Internet," he laughs. "Though maybe that's only because I'm aware it's an option. If someone's only knowledge of civilization consisted of mud-huts and subsistence farming they wouldn't be aware they're missing out on anything."

"Do your people have a name for themselves?" he asks curiously. He's got the uncanny feeling that it would translate to something like 'the people' in their language. People usually call themselves people. Not much of a shock, there. "Learning to swim is pretty easy. I guess humans just KNOW how to do it when they're babies, but then they sort of forget? Learning how to swim isn't terribly difficult, you just need the time and inclination to figure it out. And a body of water shallow enough that drowning isn't an issue."

At the mention of kaiju he laughs and makes a dismissive gesture.

"Don't worry too much about it. They're things from a pretty absurd series of movies. Have you been to a movie before?"

[Recaiden]

Moving like a knight gets Karen to the first key. Can she now cross the board again, this time while moving like a bishop?

Karen reaches up and takes the first key in her teeth (no one with opposable thumbs wears a lobster costume), and looks across the board.
That hat is a bishop's hat. She's not sure what a bishop is, actually, but it's definitely not a king or a queen or a rook.
She stars hopping, diagonally one-two-three this way, then four-five-six back up, and finally, seven, to the space next to the key.
Hah!
If no other chess symbols present themselves, she scampers across the board to the door without any heed for the pattern and undertakes the process of opening it.

[Earl of Purple]

"I don't know jackalwere. Never met one. Yes, we are hunter-gatherers. My home village is, anyway. Not mud huts, though. My mother has a yurt, but most of us have moved into some old caravans we found in a bombed-out looking campground. Now I've left, I usually squat in abandoned attics or, if the weather's nice, roost on a rooftop. Lots of abandoned places wings can find, if you know where to look. And can fit through broken windows." So probably not available for the guy, then. Or not as available, at least. "We do have a name. It's... A little arrogant, however. A literal translation would be 'Best People', with jackdaws being referred to as 'Lesser Minds' and humans as 'Grounded'. I'd have to change my face to pronounce the words properly. English is easier. Even if I'm all the way bird I can say some words in English. Takes a bit of practice, though." Corvids are smart birds, and jackdaws and ravens have both some mimic ability. Others might, too.

[Morty]

Karen reaches up and takes the first key in her teeth (no one with opposable thumbs wears a lobster costume), and looks across the board.
That hat is a bishop's hat. She's not sure what a bishop is, actually, but it's definitely not a king or a queen or a rook.
She stars hopping, diagonally one-two-three this way, then four-five-six back up, and finally, seven, to the space next to the key.
Hah!
If no other chess symbols present themselves, she scampers across the board to the door without any heed for the pattern and undertakes the process of opening it.

Karen is able to reach the door, where she can then use the two keys to open it. She reaches another cave, where she'll see a small chest on a pedestal.

"You have bested my puzzles and riddles, young one," says a voice from somewhere above her. "Now you can claim your prize."

You always want to be prepared for any kind of opponent.

Whether it's someone as big as me or someone as tiny as Brinika.

You never want to underestimate an enemy.

Iknika's ears twitch.

"I guess even someone tiny can be dangerous. Brinika has some goddess-powers someone granted her, but she just doesn't have it in her to use them to hurt someone. I don't think she could even if she wanted to, either."

[Halae]

Legend of Cookies

"Nu-uh!" Sam insists, though he doesn't stop Natalie from her theft besides waving his pitchfork menacingly at her.
"Curse you!!" he bellows.

Legend of Cookies

Natalie giggles as she takes her looted sweets and snacks, before skipping off, her faeries zipping after her. "Curses don't stick to faeries! Thank you, Zelda!" is provided as a parting gift, though its accuracy likely depends on the type of faerie and exactly what is doing the cursing.

[Legend of Cookies]

"Cute kid," Sherrel comments after Natalie's gone, smiling, "I wonder how many we'll see down here tonight."

[Deathkeeper]

[Legend of Cookies]

"Yeah. Did I do ok? I'm not good at acting." Sam asks. Though he's just overthinking it. He's actually a pretty good liar.

Khannie and her new best friend might stumble into Sam and Sherrel's tunnel, or perhaps someone else's.

[Halae]

[Legend of Cookies]

"You did fine. Just need to do it a few more times." Sherrel says encouragingly.

[Recaiden]

Karen is able to reach the door, where she can then use the two keys to open it. She reaches another cave, where she'll see a small chest on a pedestal.

"You have bested my puzzles and riddles, young one," says a voice from somewhere above her. "Now you can claim your prize."

Karen looks up, searching for the voice. That didn't sound like the ghost shark...

But if there's nothing to see up there, she bounds over to the chest to nudge it open.

[Morty]

[Puzzles]

The chest contains, appropriately enough, a big, plush shark with a silly, toothy grin.

[Ashen Lilies]

Fayyaad is blissfully unaware of Cassandra's jealousy, but he doesn't ogle Electra for too long. Instead, he raises his eyebrows, as he looks back to Cassandra.

"MERC business? Now you have me curious, but the kind of business that requires you to look differently tends to be the kind you're not supposed to talk about." He recognizes that, at least. "It's a good look on you, though. White hair and dark skin makes for a fascinating combination." He raises his arms. "Fashion magic isn't my forte, so I went with a fire theme again. Attaching ribbons to your outfit isn't as great an idea as it sounds, though."

Cassandra gives Fayyaad a cryptic smile. Really, she can't help it. These are becoming a serious problem at this point.

"The type of job where I need to blend in with the locals, yes." Be careful Fayyaad, the next time you see Cass, she might be wearing leather straps and whipping every pathetic male in sight.

...

Then again...

"Why not?"

[Felandria]

Karen is able to reach the door, where she can then use the two keys to open it. She reaches another cave, where she'll see a small chest on a pedestal.

"You have bested my puzzles and riddles, young one," says a voice from somewhere above her. "Now you can claim your prize."



Iknika's ears twitch.

"I guess even someone tiny can be dangerous. Brinika has some goddess-powers someone granted her, but she just doesn't have it in her to use them to hurt someone. I don't think she could even if she wanted to, either."

Then it sounds like whoever gave her those powers made the right decision.

But even still, it doesn't matter the size, or how confident you are in your abilities, if you take an opponent for granted, you will be making a terrible mistake.

So if you ever need any help with your training, just call me.

Felandria hands Iknika a business card with her phone number on it.

[Morty]

Cassandra gives Fayyaad a cryptic smile. Really, she can't help it. These are becoming a serious problem at this point.

"The type of job where I need to blend in with the locals, yes." Be careful Fayyaad, the next time you see Cass, she might be wearing leather straps and whipping every pathetic male in sight.

...

Then again...

"Why not?"

You can't all yourself a sorceress without cryptic smiles. A well-know fact.

"I step on them," Fayyaad says, with brutal honesty. "And they catch on everything. Doors, people, furniture. I don't know if magic can help with that. My practised grace can only go so far."

Then it sounds like whoever gave her those powers made the right decision.

But even still, it doesn't matter the size, or how confident you are in your abilities, if you take an opponent for granted, you will be making a terrible mistake.

So if you ever need any help with your training, just call me.

Felandria hands Iknika a business card with her phone number on it.

Iknika grabs the card.

"Thanks! Uh... I live in Underside, but I think it's too small down there for you. But I hang out at GLoG a lot, too."