Quest 1: A Wild Dwarf Appears! [Dictated/Action][Open to all - let me know if I messed up!!]

[fuckelves]

[Where is he? Why is there a book in his hand?]

...from the make of this place, I'd say this is Elf sorcery...

[To appease his curiosity, Thorin opens the book and finds not only his name, but the words he spoke not seconds ago written inside.]

...definitely Elf devilry.

[He tilts a brow and observes his surroundings - seems to be a lobby of some sort. Dwarves don't typically live in castles, so he knows this is not the work of his kind - and his kind would never demand the sacrifice that this castle did.]

Where in Mahal's beard am I?

Comments

[wizard_redfive]

Well, this place has summoned both God and the Devil in its time, so I'd say it's pretty bold.

It does indeed. This castle is unusually sentient for a building and likes to be involved in its residents' lives.

[fuckelves]

[God and the Devil? He's never heard of these two, but he gets the point well enough.]

To summon such deities...this castle has unsettling strength...

[He doesn't know how he feels about this...]

[wizard_redfive]

It certainly does. Some of the things it has achieved could put it on deity level itself.

[fuckelves]

Oh? Such as?

[He's curious now, but not in a good way. He's more concerned with what terrors could potentially befall him in this place.]

[wizard_redfive]

Well for starters, the castle is able to change our location at will. Either by moving us all overnight or changing its own appearance. It's also capable of grabbing people from other worlds like it's collecting trading cards. You already have some experience with that aspect of its power.

[fuckelves]

[He stares silently for several minutes as he contemplates all this.]

Do you mean to tell me that I could fall asleep safe in my bed and wake up inside the mouth of a dragon?

[Yes, this is one of his worst nightmares.]

[wizard_redfive]

Perhaps, but it's unlikely. Paradisa prefers us to be conscious when dangerous situations are thrown our way. Makes for better reactions.

[Unless Toothless ever comes back, then it was completely feasible. Just in the friendly nudge your face kind of way instead eating your face. Or roasting it.]

[fuckelves]

Oh, aye. This is indeed a sociopathic place.

[And Thorin's not sure he likes it one bit.]

[wizard_redfive]

That's one way to put it. [Dairine does not disagree either.]

You may also find yourself subject to little "pranks," either on an individual level or a large group. We call them losses... though they're not related to your permanent loss.

[fuckelves]

...I don't like the sound of this.

[Thorin heaves a small sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose. This place just keeps getting better and better...]

Please explain?

[wizard_redfive]

Which? The short-term losses or the permanent ones?

[fuckelves]

Short-term losses. I understand the permanent loss all too well...

[wizard_redfive]

Well, they vary from person to person and usually last about a week. Some go shorter or longer. The longest was well over a month, I think.

Common losses include turning into an animal and being deaged to one's childhood.

[fuckelves]

...these do not sound at all pleasant...

[That's rather the idea, Thorin...]

[wizard_redfive]

They aren't. That's sort of the point. The castle does it to get a rise out of people.

[fuckelves]

Again, you make the castle sound like some spoiled child and we are its disposable dolls...

[Thorin does not enjoy being likened to a doll...]

[wizard_redfive]

There's an interesting metaphor for it. It leaves out the most important detail though.

[fuckelves]

Which is....?

[wizard_redfive]

The reason it tries to mess with us is because the castle feeds off our emotions.

[fuckelves]

So the castle draws power from our emotions? Interesting...

[He strokes his beard in thought for a moment.]

So, it stands to reason that, when it requires more power, it coaxes certain emotions out of us, correct?

[wizard_redfive]

So it seems. It's difficult to tell if it needs particular emotions or if its tastes change over time. Though the events it uses to trigger more emotions must take up greater amounts of power too, so it's more like a circular pattern.

[fuckelves]

Aye, an endless and fruitless cycle, at that. But we should probably hope that it doesn't realize this - lest it increase its efforts and make us even more miserable!

[wizard_redfive]

No more fruitless than other feeding techniques. We humans often burn energy while preparing or eating meals. Some food barely pays off, like celery, yet people still eat it.

[fuckelves]

[Celery - a foreign concept to a Dwarf...they don't eat much green food...]

That...does indeed make the whole process seem odd...

[Even Thorin's not sure he's understanding her properly..]

Super late, ahhh, forgive me

[wizard_redfive]

[Dairine snorts.]

Tell me about it. I nearly failed my Ordeal because of how inefficient it seems.