The Fortress of Many Turnings [open]

[applesaucemod]

Welcome to Caerdroia. Though at first glance this world seems calm, even idyllic, closer inspection will reveal a startling lack of linearity. A doorway in one place can suddenly lead to another entirely, the locals going about their business seem totally unaware of your presence, and you may find reminders of home that are less than welcome -- and less than safe.

The countryside seems almost designed to set one at one's ease. Gentle, rolling hills overlook a town in the near distance, and herds of friendly cows cluster here and there (with unknown intent).

The Garden of Curiosities is a walled-off park. Inside, streams and paths wind through beautiful landscaping, and animals can be found on the loose everywhere. For the most part, these creatures are friendly (or at least indifferent) toward visitors, though their appearance might perturb. One might see an animal one has never encountered before, or one might find the garden inhabited by creatures from one's own world that are somehow changed, whether in size, color, or behavior. And, of course, one might find something rather more predatory has taken up residence….

The town hall never seems to be in the same place twice. Finding your way through the streets to any one particular building is an exercise in frustration, as the town seems to shift and change whenever part of it is out of your sight. The hall itself isn't much better once you get inside; stairwells have a habit of appearing on the ceiling, hallways turn into dead ends while your back is turned, and floors are liable to open up into fathomless pits.

The Labyrinth is where many journeys seem destined to end. The way out is, more often than not, the way in. Try to leave one part of Caerdroia, and the doorway might very well open into the labyrinth. And, like any good labyrinth, this one is home to a Minotaur. And, like any good Minotaur, this one would be more than happy to tear you to pieces.

[OOC: Once again, the shared dream is open to all characters, including those not currently in the game and those belonging to players who are not currently members. Once again, too, players are free to choose whether their characters see the dream for what it is, whether they are forced to abide by its rules, and whether they will remember this in the morning.]

Comments

[bluesuit_handy]

"Predators?" Andrew looks back and forth between Daine and his new best friend disbelievingly. "Maybe for eggs," he allows dubiously, "But I'd expect Mum to have something to say about that. Predators, really? Are there things bigger than you, then? I mean, 'course there are, but things that go after eggs?"

[wildmage_daine]

Daine suppresses another wince as the griffin replies. "Every creature has predators," Daine informs him; the griffin needn't trouble himself explaining that much. "But it's humans that are most likely to try and rob a griffin's nest. This one says that humans used to steal their young for shields."

[bluesuit_handy]

Andrew would reply that he doesn't have any predators, but he's aware he'd spew a series of qualifications afterward -- assuming he could get it out at all.

"I'd like to say I'm surprised," he sighs. How did he manage to turn this conversation to the topic of kidnapping? "I'm not entirely human, if that helps," he adds, going right ahead and throwing Daine and the rest of her species under the bus.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine wrinkles her nose, not appreciating being tossed under said bus - though not for the reason he thinks. "Neither am I," she says before she can think to stop herself. After a few ringing notes from the griffin, she adds, "Not that he cares about particulars. He says you look and sound human." The griffin ruffles its feathers distastefully, and Daine adds, "Hurts his ears, he says."

[bluesuit_handy]

"Well, I'm not," says Andrew sharply, feelings a bit hurt. "I could say you look like a big cat-bird, but I didn't until just now because I wasn't deliberately trying to insult you yet."

He scowls, having meant to say 'because I have something called tact.'

[wildmage_daine]

Oh, good - Andrew's distracted enough by the griffin's insult to have missed her little slip. Her relief is short-lived, though, as the griffin's response is loud enough to hurt. Gritting her teeth until the pain passes, she debates whether or not to translate it. Her hesitation earns her a haughty look from the creature, and she sighs. Andrew really isn't going to like this, is he?

"He says the real insult would be the idea that we're his friends," she says, cheeks reddening. As the griffin looks down its beak at Andrew, it occurs to her that maybe she should have mentioned earlier that griffins can be snobs.

[bluesuit_handy]

Can be? Andrew is unpleasantly reminded of certain Time Lords he's known, though the addition of the beak is more or less an improvement. He reddens as well, wounded despite himself. "Who'd want to be his friend?" he asks bitterly, then deliberately words the next part as a question as well to be sure he'll be able to say it. "Do you use a litterbox?" he asks the griffin. "Do you need friends to come scoop it clean for you, is that why you brought it up?"

[wildmage_daine]

If the griffin had only understood Andrew's words, the insult might have escaped him. It's not as if he knows what 'litterbox' means, after all. But he understands the ideas behind Andrew's words well enough, and before Daine can get a word in, the griffin lets out a furious shriek. Huge wings snap open, and the creature rears onto his hind legs, drawing back a taloned foreleg in readiness to strike.

"No!" Daine throws herself between the griffin and Andrew. She plants one hand on Andrew's chest and pushes him back, the other is raised toward the griffin in appeasement - and warning. "Stop it!" she orders the creature, underscoring the words with her magic. The griffin refrains from lashing out at her, but she's still buffeted by the wind his wings create as he heaves himself back a few paces. Glancing reproachfully back at Andrew, she adds, "Both of you! We don't have to be friends, but we don't need to fight, either."

[bluesuit_handy]

Andrew doesn't put up any resistance to being pushed back -- indeed, he's already stumbling backwards, his stricken expression revealing his surprise at the severity of the upcoming consequences to his words. He grabs at Daine, instinctively wanting to take her by the hand and run, but the moment of danger passes before he can get a good 'run!' out.

Mouth flapping like that of a fish, Andrew looks between Daine and the griffin that almost eviscerated him a moment ago. "He started it!"

And look at that, it's even the truth...from Andrew's perspective, anyhow.

[wildmage_daine]

The griffin hisses, feathers literally and metaphorically ruffled. Daine's mental apology does little to appease it, and it chimes a huffy farewell before taking off over the wall. She watches the creature go, pressing her lips together into a thin line. All right, so she shouldn't have expected much better from a griffin. Perhaps she shouldn't have expected much better from Andrew, either. At the moment, though, what strikes her most is that she finally got to see another creature from her realm - a bit of home - and Andrew chased it off.

"Well, I hope you're pleased," she says, crossing her arms tightly.

[bluesuit_handy]

"Me?" Andrew is incredulous as only Andrew can be. "What did I do?"

While he knows full well that he didn't handle that as maturely as he might have, it does not occur to him to think that Daine is actually all that broken up about losing the griffin's company. The creature didn't exactly seem overfond of her, either.

[wildmage_daine]

He really has to ask? "You were rude," she snaps. "He would've been nicer if you hadn't insulted him."

Well, he might've been nicer, but the griffin took his truth-compelling aura with him, and Daine's still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Not least of all because despite the number of alien minds brushing against her own, she still feels the loss of that one familiar one.

Anyway, it's not as if the griffin forced Andrew to speak in the first place. He couldn't have just kept his mouth shut for thirty seconds while she did the talking?

[bluesuit_handy]

This is Andrew she's talking to. Of course he couldn't.

"I repeat, he started it!" replies Andrew stridently. "It's not my fault if Mr. Cat-bird does and starts a fight. What, was I supposed to pretend he's better than me?"