TDM 003

[erkumods]

TDM 003: #BEACHBUMS

I. BEACH Welcome arrivals, new and old! The skies on Erku may be perpetually gray, but the weather has taken a sudden turn to summertime heat. Fortunately, soaring temperatures have chased away more of the strange fog that conceals so much of the island, unveiling a charming, sandy cove dotted here and there with rustic love shacks. These shabby little lean-tos are dusty and sparse, but they provide everything one (or two, wink wink) might need for a little relief from the sun. Just don’t wander too far... that fog has memory-loss properties. II. DRINKS The 'bots are very apologetic about the whole fog incident, and they are trying to get on the new arrivals' good sides by giving out fancy drinks. Of course, they still haven't mastered the art of making things properly, so each drink has a little something... extra. Geloso: Has a slightly bitter, yet refreshing herbal taste... and it will make you feel inexplicably envious of virtually anything, to a petty degree! Be it someone else’s shoes or their incredibly muscular physique, you’re jealous enough to tell them about it! Colpito: Fruity and sweet like candy. If you drink this, you will feel hopelessly infatuated with the very next person who catches your eye! Vivace: Delightfully tart, with a flavor somewhere between citrus and raspberry. This summery drink will fill you with bubbly energy. Whether you’re feeling flirty or just mischievous and playful, you’ve never felt more alive! Verace: Creamy, earthy, and a little nutty - the flavor is hard to describe, but delicious. After drinking this, you’ll feel strangely compelled to spill something you’ve been keeping a secret, no matter how incriminating or embarrassing. Conoscere: The robots are especially excited about this flavor! They’ve heard organic beings enjoy chocolate, and hope you like their first attempt (it’s a little bitter, but it is chocolatey). Those who drink this will feel incredibly confident and sensual. Better yet, if you share it with a partner - which the 'bots encourage you to do - you’ll find that every touch is enhanced, and every sensation is shared between the two of you. A lucky few may even be able to sense one another’s thoughts! III. SNACKS Lo! As you ask, the Augur shall provide. Thanks to the efforts of your organic predecessors in restoring the planet’s Eros energy, edible fishes and seaweeds have returned to the ponds and the shores of Erku. If you fancy yourself savvy to basic survival skills, why not fashion up a fishing rod and catch yourself dinner? Just be careful if you happen to hook one of the octopus creatures from the deeper waters - they can be quite forward with their tentacles! Or, if primitive angling isn’t in your repertoire, you can always trade some credits for a tasty catch from one of the food stalls along the coast. Most stalls are manned by 'bots, but there’s nothing stopping an enterprising arrival from setting up shop. No credits? No problem! The robots have also provided a bit of entertainment, and any volunteers to man the kissing booth, get dunked in the wet t-shirt dunk tank, or grill up some fish - among other opportunities - will find credits automatically loaded onto the payment app of their bracelet devices. The 'bots are recruiting especially hard for participants to work in the gloryhole tent! IV. SPARKLES As dusk descends, the white sands of the beach suddenly come alive with glittering lights. It’s as if the darkened waters have carried a thousand shining stars from the depths of the sea to the shores of the cove. In actuality, each little twinkle is a bioluminescent plankton or jellyfish! Feel free to wade among them and admire their shine; even the sting of the jellies won’t hurt you... though they do pack a different punch. The tentacles of the jellyfish elicit a powerful aphrodisiac response, which gets the heart racing and the blood pumping for an intimate touch. The effects come on within a matter of minutes, and last for a few hours. Only time will relieve the symptoms, but a partner will help to make it more bearable. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● N A V I G A T I O N

Comments

[necrocabbage]

Yes, that's right. The human god Grenth rules over the Underworld, and though it's not my personal religion, many necromancers believe that is the true origin of the minions we summon.

[Luckily for V, Trahearne quite enjoys sharing his knowledge. There's also the fact that such unappealing minions tended to attract more negative attention than positive, even though the practice of necromancy was generally accepted on Trahearne's home world.]

They're much like machines, if you prefer to use that comparison. They will do nothing without direction, and require their caster's will and magic to exist. Without either of those, they crumble to dust.

[And then the bone minion stands up on its hind legs, pressing one little arm to its chest and giving V a very human-like bow.]

[humanbody]

Your home sounds quite different from my own. The Underworld I'm familiar with is both populated and ruled by demons of all shapes, sizes... and intelligence levels. [He leans in a little closer as though he was about to share something he didn't want to be common knowledge.] It would seem a few of my own 'pets' also arrived with me. Although they have nothing to do with necromancy.

[He watches the little creature before giving Trahearne a nod.]

Lifeless bones reanimated by your magic? It would make sense that it has no thought or free will then.

[His own minions aren't quite alive but they're not dead either. It's complicated.]

[necrocabbage]

[Hearing that makes Trahearne frown thoughtfully.] Ruled by demons? I hope they're not the ones who judge souls where you're from. [Hopefully they're two different underworlds in that regard. Whether or not Grenth judged all souls or only human ones was enough under debate as it is.

Its little show over, the bone minion hops back down from the counter to return to the now-empty fish bucket it had been retrieving from. It knocks the bucket over onto its side to roll it away, off to ask a robot for more.]

And what manner of pets did you bring with you? [Trahearne asks him, intrigued.] You don't strike me as the type to be an outdoorsman.

[humanbody]

Judge souls? You and I likely have very different Underworlds. The Underworld is like... a realm, where demons live. And then there is the realm where humans live. If a demon wanted souls, and was powerful enough, they'd push into the human realm and devour them.

[Simple, right?

The corner of V's lips twist upward at the question and he turns to look at the ground, an inky black shape slowly appearing. The ground seems to turn into something almost liquid-like, black and viscous. The liquid shifts and takes shape, building itself into a panther. Once its shape is formed, the liquid, wet sheen seems to disappear, leaving behind an animal that could almost pass as natural. The panther's ears flick with curiosity and it seems to smell the cooking fish which has its padding closer and trying to peer over the counter at the grill.]

Shadow is one of them. The other is far too big and... destructive... to summon on a whim.

[necrocabbage]

I am starting to get that impression...

[Eyes widening, Trahearne leans over the counter to get a better look at the pool of liquid as it twists itself into a familiar shape. He's seen panthers kept by rangers as hunting companions, of course, but this made it very clear that there was no simple nature magic involved in this kind of 'summoning'.]

Remarkable! That's like no magic I've ever seen before. Does it work like an ooze? Absorbing its prey rather than eating it?

[The bone minion at the grill grabs one of the cooled fish fillets nearby and drags it on top of the counter, dangling it over the side for the panther-like creature. Trahearne did have a soft spot for cats, even the large ones.]

[humanbody]

[Shadow steps closer, sticking his nose closer to the cooling fish. The big cat stops just shy of hopping up to put his front paws on the counter. Despite seeming to want to, the cat shows some restraint, eyes going wide as the fish is dangled in front of him.]

He doesn't actually need to eat. [Of course, V says as much as Shadow eases his teeth around the fish and hops back with it in his mouth to enjoy. If Trahearne keeps an eye on him though, he'll see that the fish isn't ever actually eaten, just picked up, dropped, picked up again, chewed on, dropped again, tossed around a bit.] He is... mostly solid now.

But he is also still malleable. A shapeshifter. [Leaning on his cane, V stoops down to snag the fish, straightening and dangling it again. Instead of taking the fish with his mouth again, a thin, black spike suddenly protrudes from the panthers shoulder, inky and liquid-like he'd looked when he'd formed. The spike spears the fish and pulls it back, the spike disappearing as it's reabsorbed, making the fish drop to the ground.

V looks satisfied with the little display.]

[necrocabbage]

[Trahearne would've called it a good use of the fish even if Shadow only played with it, but the demonstration of his abilities is more than worth the sacrifice - and besides, without customers, the food would only be going to waste as it is. Luckily, the robots have made no indication that they care about sales numbers, only that someone is at the booth doing the work.]

Bravo! I can see the possibilities of having a shapeshifter at your side. He must make for a marvelous companion in a combat situation.

Is there any chance you'd like a fish as well? It'll be on the house, as thanks for what you've shown me.

[Trahearne is privately a bit concerned at how skinny V is; he's aware that it's not healthy for humans to be quite that thin.]

[humanbody]

Is combat not the main purpose of your minions?

[But, yes, his pact with the shapeshifting demon had been entered because V, on his own, was as weak as he looked. Lucky for him, at the time, Shadow had needed him as much as he'd needed Shadow.]

On the house?

[V tilts his head as if he needs to inspect his stomach in order to figure out if he's hungry. Honestly, it's one of the things about being human that he still hasn't quite gotten the hang of. He seemed to either not be hungry and forget he was supposed to eat or be starving and feel like he's about to collapse. Free food. He knows he should take it.]

I've never had fish. [He gives Trahearne a shallow smile.] I'll try one.

[necrocabbage]

Oh, it is, but each of my minions were created with a specific task in mind. Altering their summoning spells is harder than you'd think it is. A shapeshifter, though, that's adaptability in all sorts of situations. I'm almost jealous.

[His tone remains light as he says it, though, busying himself with fetching one of the plates of fish that's already set aside. Trahearne picks one that's still hot off the grill, placing it on the counter alongside a flimsy plastic fork. It's all the robots had to offer, though he's still a little confused by the unfamiliar substance.]

Here you are. Have you never lived near a source of water? [Considering Trahearne comes from a place without real refrigeration technology, it's not all that far from the realm of possibility.]

[humanbody]

[V takes the thin plate and flimsy little fork. He isn't sure about the smell coming off the fish, but his stomach does seem to be rumbling and his mouth ends up watering at the smell regardless.

He takes a bite, tasting the grilled, charcoalish taste, but the fish itself is somewhat lacking in any kind of flavor.]

I've... not, no. [He hadn't been in existence long enough to live anywhere, but trying to explain that seems like it's more of a problem than it's worth.] I assume this isn't your home. This dimension, or whatever we've found ourselves in.

[necrocabbage]

[Trahearne is content to lean against the counter as they talk, the minion that was at the grill scampering off to help the first one with bringing over the newly-refilled bucket of fish. The two small minions are having a little trouble hefting the bucket between them, but Trahearne has his back turned and is seemingly ignoring it - his gaze going a little distant is really the only sign that he's controlling them.]

Oh, indeed not. I hail from a world called Tyria, which looks quite different from this, [he says while motioning back at the city beyond the beach.] There's also many more varieties of people than what I've seen here. I was quite surprised to find that the population of this place seems to be mostly human.

[humanbody]

You'll find yourself coming to terms with such a thing very quickly. Humans tend to be quite agreeable and nonthreatening.

[V seems to be speaking from experience.

He takes another bite of the fish, gazing past Trahearne at the ruins of the old city. They remind him of the damaged city he'd left behind, a massive demonic Qliphoth tree crashing through most buildings and unleashing demons on any members of the population who hadn't already fleed the city.]

What manner of people are you used to? You are very obviously not human, though your species is unfamiliar to me.

[necrocabbage]

In general, yes. I'm well aware now of how varied humans can be.

[It strikes Trahearne that V has used a somewhat odd way of talking about your own species. He opts not to mention it, though, instead regarding him with a curious look for a few seconds before offering him another smile.]

We're called sylvari, and we're a very new people by Tyrian standards. I have thousands of brothers and sisters, but we've existed for less than thirty years. There are plenty of humans on Tyria as well, along with charr, asura, and norn. Even the cities that have a majority of humans will have a small population of the rest, and yet none of them are here that I've seen.

[humanbody]

I've not heard of any of those. But sylvari certainly sound quite intriguing. Does that mean that all sylvari are thirty years old or younger? How does a species such as your own simply spring into existence... or maybe you're simply new to Tyria.

[Immigration from some other dimension certainly makes more sense than a species suddenly coming into existence from nothing.]

[necrocabbage]

Yes, we're all quite young by most standards.

[Trahearne was in fact the oldest sylvari at the time of his death, the first of the firstborn. He's reluctant to mention that, though - and the rest of his questioning similarly makes Trahearne hesitate. Most of his knowledge of that had come in the middle of a crisis, and remained a bitter pill to swallow.]

That is - how we came to exist is a long and complicated story. It's best to simply call it a happy accident.