Dungeons and Dragons with the Doodlies

[deftona]

7 minutes ago, Terah said:

I just wanted my fully packed backpack from my room with all the stuff I gathered during the previous adventures (see character sheet) if that is okay?

 

Pssst, get something for me. 

[Terah]

24 minutes ago, deftona said:

 

Pssst, get something for me. 

Okay, I'll grab a magic gimp mask for def, so she and shello van be twins even in battle 

[The Most Loathed]

Note: oops, I had Ormac in two places at once in the previous update. Assume he was with ZenLara and not lifting the sleigh.

 

Terah leads the handful of reindeer back to the sleigh and drops a handful of apples she picked up somewhere. The reindeer passively take to chewing on them. She then races into the castle without explanation. ZenLara and Ormac lead their own charges to the small pile of apples. 

The team of DarkRaider and Sylvaa continue to heave at the sleigh but it's not budging past about knee height. Ormac adds his strength to it, causing it to roll over. An unconscious SMWRS lays on the ground. ZenLara immediately begins checking the red suited, whited bearded, pot bellied individual over while the others look at the sleigh.

 

• Sylvaa hears the sounds of wings beating overhead and looks up to see a large silhouette blocking out the stars. It's clearly a bird but it's either much closer than it sounded or extremely large.
• Terah comes puffing out of the castle with an impossibly heavy backpack, things are lashed to it in a comical manner, as if she thought she would just grab everything she owned. In her hand she has a strange piece of black fabric or leather that appears to have a couple zippers on it. Maybe a bag of some sort.
• ZenLara, while working on the SMWRS, realizes that nothing is as it had appeared. This person is wearing a false beard, and a false belly, and has age make up on. It's clearly a reasonably attractive 20 or 30 something dressed up to look like a typical SMWRS. Unfortunately, she is unconscious, but alive.
• Ormac and DarkRaider you can survey any part of the scene in greater detail but also, before you is the interior of the sleigh, a little worse for the wear. You see that the sleigh has two seats in the front and a long bench in the back that people could sit on or it could be used for storage. There is a scroll on the ground that was presumably inside the sleigh when it apparently struck the castle. There are also two large, red, fur trimmed bags. While they are open, nothing has fallen out of them. They look like they're heavy. There is a red circle between the two front seats that is blinking rapidly now.

 

This is your opportunity to role play a bit. What draws your eye, what do you investigate? 

 

For the next few days we will be progressing the story. I don't have specfic challenges for you this weekend but keep track of what you do in terms of: strength, cardio, self care, and social skills. You'll get credit for them going forward.

[Terah]

I want to bring the fake SMWRS into the doodlie castle and try to heal her further using my healing ability. Before I do that I would like to tie her up if the other doodlies agree, just in case she has something against us. 

 

I also want to examine the sleigh. Is there something in it? And what's with the blinking red lights?

[The Most Loathed]

1 minute ago, Terah said:

I want to bring the fake SMWRS into the doodlie castle and try to heal her further using my healing ability. Before I do that I would like to tie her up if the other doodlies agree, just in case she has something against us. 

 

I also want to examine the sleigh. Is there something in it? And what's with the blinking red lights?

Which order would you like to go in, Look in the sleigh then deal with the SMWRS or drag the SMWRS into the castle then go back out to look at the sleigh? I ask because in the first case I'll give ZenLara dibs on what gets done with the SMWRS but in the second I'll give Oramac and DarkRaider dibs on the sleigh. 

[Terah]

I'll examine the sleigh first

[Shello]

57 minutes ago, Terah said:

I want to bring the fake SMWRS into the doodlie castle and try to heal her further using my healing ability. Before I do that I would like to tie her up if the other doodlies agree, just in case she has something against us. 

 

I also want to examine the sleigh. Is there something in it? And what's with the blinking red lights?

Exactly when would the Doodlies have an issue with tying someone up?  

 

I'll keep my eyes on the fake SMWRS while Terah looks at the sleigh.  I'm most curious about that red light.  

 

Also, I've done about 1 hour of self care.  

[Shello]

23 hours ago, The Most Loathed said:

 

LadyShello - Koala slippers, still gets to pick an item that she grabbed

 

 

Naturally I grabbed my hammer

 

[Oramac]

After leading a few reindeer over to a small pile of apples, Oramac picks one up to eat himself, and whistles for Max to come over.  He takes a moment to give Max a bite of the apple and instructs his trusty companion to keep guard over the reindeer, herding them around the apples if needed.  

 

Once he's finished that, Oramac moves over to the sleigh.  Noticing the blinking red center console, he immediately asks the others for some space to inspect the light and determine its use.  Once that's done, and assuming he sees no imminent threat, Oramac crawls under the righted sleigh to assess the damage.  Emerging with smears of grease and soot on his face and hands, he uses some snow to wash them off a little bit before checking out the sleigh's cargo.  

 

 

Oramac will definitely be inspecting the blinky light, using his mechanical skill if possible.  Assuming the light is not a threat, he'll continue assessing the damage to the sleigh to see how (or if) it can be fixed, and after that will check out the cargo (the scroll and the two large red bags).   

He'll also instruct Max to attempt to keep the reindeer company, and herd them around the apples if need be.

 

I missed my D&D game last night, and instead stayed home and let my mind recover.  Both activities are versions of self-care, but as I missed the planned version, I'm not going to count it for purposes of this story.  

 

[The Most Loathed]

Everyone slowly converges on the sleigh some keeping a skeptical eye on the SWMRS but most are staring at the blinking light. Sylvaa watches the sky, eyes drawn to the spiraling form of a huge bird. It seems to be growing larger, larger even than she would have thought possible.

 

Oramac reaches out to touch the blinking light. As his hand grows nearer it seems almost like the light responds by blinking fast. He touches it

-click-

 

WHUMP!

The air is driven from everyone's lungs and their legs jar. The first sharp intake of air is bitter cold, the lights are extremely bright. A strange tall man with sandy blonde hair and wearing very bright green clothes is yelling at you but everyones' ears popped and it's not coming through clearly

 

 

to be continued tomorrow. (about 18 hours from now I'll tell you more)

[Oramac]

5 minutes ago, The Most Loathed said:

Oramac reaches out to touch the blinking light.

 

Not exactly what I meant, but it seems like it'll make for a good story, so I'm going with it! 

[The Most Loathed]

17 minutes ago, Oramac said:

 

Not exactly what I meant, but it seems like it'll make for a good story, so I'm going with it! 

Someone had to touch the blinking button. It'll be for the greater good. 

[The Most Loathed]

The words start to become more clear. "where is wubwubfiwubwub, what 'ave oo one with er. Where is One-One-Five-One-One? What have you done with her?"

The strange man lets out an inarticulate shriek of frustration. "Eighty-Seven! Get in here now!"

 

A lean, dark skinned man rushes into the room wearing a green outfit trimmed in fur. You can hear bells jingle with each step. "Sir!" the one presumably called Eighty-Seven barks and snaps his heals together sharply causing another jingle. "You and Five-Three-Eight are to detain these people immediately. We must know why they have attacked our agents and who they work for. I daresay they aren't doing it alone." Says the first man while scanning you collectively with a sneer. 

 

A second person strides quickly into the room, a very petite woman this time. She jingles as she walks but the more observant among you notice that she has on platform shoes to make her almost the exact height of Eighty-Seven. "Sir" she snaps of sharply followed by snapping her heals together. Then she points past the sleigh to where the SWMRS had been lying relative to the sleigh, she's still in the exact same relative position. "I believe that is One-One-Five-One-One." She turns her head towards the doorway they've each come through "MEDIC!"

 

The first man's eyebrows make a fair attempt at climbing straight up and off his face. "You! Yooou!! What did you do!? We Will Have Answers!?" He points in turn at each of you.

 

I'll pause here to allow players to ask questions, respond the the accusations and so on. I'll check in periodically today and tomorrow. Feel free to talk to him. If you try to talk to one another he'll snap and bark at you to be quiet but you can roleplay that as desired. I'll advance us through this over the weekend so feel free to play a bit but nothing is required of you until we kick off the major plot thread Monday (you'll have through Thursday to address that so don't sweat getting online right after I post it).

[Terah]

Terah pets the reindeer, feeding them some more apples. "I'm sorry for the confusion kind Sir, we heard the crash and rushed to help. We didn't cause any of this."

She offers the man an apple "Can you tell us where we are?"

[The Most Loathed]

42 minutes ago, Terah said:

Terah pets the reindeer, feeding them some more apples. "I'm sorry for the confusion kind Sir, we heard the crash and rushed to help. We didn't cause any of this."

She offers the man an apple "Can you tell us where we are?"

The man puts up his hands, palms facing you, as if the ward off the offered apple. "Baah! One-One-Five-One-One is one of our field operatives...A very well trained field operative. How did she come to be in such dire circumstances"

Five-Three-Eight plucks the apple from your hand and takes a bite. She smiles contentedly as a little juice dribbles from her small mouth. Both of the two men look at her in horror. The first man gets even more shrill "Five-Three-Eight what has gotten into you. You don't know where that's been. They may be agents of Her. You may be poisoned."

A short rotund man in white shorts and t-shirt with red and white striped long sleeves and leggings runs into the room as Five-Three-Eight points with the bitten apple to the SMWRS you initially found. The new man immediately begins tending to her. Five-Three-Eight looks straight into your eyes, her eyes are hazel and her hair is a dirty blonde under her green cap. "You have no idea how long it has been since I've eaten a fresh grown apple.They don't grow well in the Frozen North" as she gestures around herself as if to say "all this is the Frozen North".

[Oramac]

Oramac was dazed slightly by the sudden........teleportation?  He wasn't sure.  In any case, as soon as his senses returned, he looked about for Max, and seeing him, rushed over to make sure his dog was ok.  Other than being a little shaken by the sudden change of scenery, the mutt seemed ok.  

 

Getting his bearings and hearing this strange mans proclamation, Oramac stood and readied an arrow, though he kept his bow pointed safely at the ground, in the least threatening manner possible.  Seeing the speakers scowl at this, Oramac spoke: 

 

"Sir, we're not your enemy." Nodding towards Terah, he continued, "As my friend pointed out, we heard the sleigh crash and rushed to help.  Being of mechanical inclination, I attempted to diagnose whatever issue caused the sleigh to crash.  Seeing the red button, I pressed it, and now we're here."

 

 

I'm assuming Max was transported with us here.  If not, let me know and I'll rewrite this.

[Sylvaa]

Sylvaa offers a smile to the one known as Five-Three-Eight. "We aren't trying to cause any harm or problems, we heard the crash and came down to see what we could do to help. I don't know who this 'Her' is that you speak of, but we aren't agents of anyone."

[The Most Loathed]

41 minutes ago, Oramac said:

Oramac was dazed slightly by the sudden........teleportation?  He wasn't sure.  In any case, as soon as his senses returned, he looked about for Max, and seeing him, rushed over to make sure his dog was ok.  Other than being a little shaken by the sudden change of scenery, the mutt seemed ok.  

 

Getting his bearings and hearing this strange mans proclamation, Oramac stood and readied an arrow, though he kept his bow pointed safely at the ground, in the least threatening manner possible.  Seeing the speakers scowl at this, Oramac spoke: 

 

"Sir, we're not your enemy." Nodding towards Terah, he continued, "As my friend pointed out, we heard the sleigh crash and rushed to help.  Being of mechanical inclination, I attempted to diagnose whatever issue caused the sleigh to crash.  Seeing the red button, I pressed it, and now we're here."

 

  Reveal hidden contents

I'm assuming Max was transported with us here.  If not, let me know and I'll rewrite this.

Max is definitely here.

The man's gaze shifts from Five-Three-Eight to you and he achieves the seemingly impossible, he gets even more shrill. "There was a red button! There was a red button? You pushed the red button?!"

 

38 minutes ago, Sylvaa said:

Sylvaa offers a smile to the one known as Five-Three-Eight. "We aren't trying to cause any harm or problems, we heard the crash and came down to see what we could do to help. I don't know who this 'Her' is that you speak of, but we aren't agents of anyone."

Five-Three-Eights eyes shift smoothly to you. She reaches up and wipes the juice from her mouth using a sleeve. She raises her apple hand and holds up one finger, asking for a pause. She performs something with her feet and smoothly whirls to face the first man you encountered. She clicks her platformed heels together "Sir, One-One-Five-One-One is being tended to. I'd like to take these people aside and..uh..ascertain their intentions."

The shrill man looks from Oramac to Five-Three-Eight. His face suddenly relaxes then takes on annoyed appearance that looks surprisingly comfortable on his face, obviously his default. He extends his arm, palm down and waggles his fingers, a very dismissive gesture. "Yes, I'll find you in an hour. If we don't know their intentions then I'll give them to the Snowmen." The last word is said with enough gravitas to imply that this is not a good thing. 

 

Five-Three-Eight leads everyone across the hall to a very similar looking room. The room is white a white box, about half as wide as it is long. It's easily 15, maybe 20 feet wide. There's an cube shaped pit on the floor, about four feet on a side. There are slight depressions to either side of the pit running in the same direction as the longer measurement of the room. The room smells like a barn paired with oil. A clipboard hangs on the wall from a single hook. There is a pencil attached to it via twine.

 

"Ok, I'll explain everything but I need you to go first. I need to know who you are, how you came across One-One-Five-One-One. What was around you? What did you see and hear? Once I understand enough to report in, I can explain to you where you are. Please understand, the Overseer isn't a bad guy, he just doesn't have the temperament for command, just the height. If I don't give him satisfactory answers, it doesn't matter if you know that you're at the source of all SWMRS you will still be released to the Snowmen."

 

You are still dressed as you were, pajamas, robes, slippers. Animals and materials that were outside the castle with you are here with you. None of you are hurt. You were briefly dazed by the jump from where you were to where you are but that has cleared. The environment you are in is entirely artificial, all white walls and bright lights. The air is cool but not cold. 

538 seems friendly towards the group where the overseer seemed stand offish at best. 

 

 

Someone can tell 538  whatever story you want about how this started. If anyone wants anymore description of any person, place or thing in this space, let me know.

[Oramac]

3 minutes ago, The Most Loathed said:

The man's gaze shifts from Five-Three-Eight to you and he achieves the seemingly impossible, he gets even more shrill. "There was a red button! There was a red button? You pushed the red button?!"

 

Five-Three-Eights eyes shift smoothly to you. She reaches up and wipes the juice from her mouth using a sleeve. She raises her apple hand and holds up one finger, asking for a pause. She performs something with her feet and smoothly whirls to face the first man you encountered. She clicks her platformed heels together "Sir, One-One-Five-One-One is being tended to. I'd like to take these people aside and..uh..ascertain their intentions."

The shrill man looks from Oramac to Five-Three-Eight. His face suddenly relaxes then takes on annoyed appearance that looks surprisingly comfortable on his face, obviously his default. He extends his arm, palm down and waggles his fingers, a very dismissive gesture. "Yes, I'll find you in an hour. If we don't know their intentions then I'll give them to the Snowmen." The last word is said with enough gravitas to imply that this is not a good thing. 

 

Five-Three-Eight leads everyone across the hall to a very similar looking room. The room is white a white box, about half as wide as it is long. It's easily 15, maybe 20 feet wide. There's an cube shaped pit on the floor, about four feet on a side. There are slight depressions to either side of the pit running in the same direction as the longer measurement of the room. The room smells like a barn paired with oil. A clipboard hangs on the wall from a single hook. There is a pencil attached to it via twine.

 

"Ok, I'll explain everything but I need you to go first. I need to know who you are, how you came across One-One-Five-One-One. What was around you? What did you see and hear? Once I understand enough to report in, I can explain to you where you are. Please understand, the Overseer isn't a bad guy, he just doesn't have the temperament for command, just the height. If I don't give him satisfactory answers, it doesn't matter if you know that you're at the source of all SWMRS you will still be released to the Snowmen."

 

"Well.....'pushed' is a bit of a stretch.  I was trying to trace the wiring for the button and I accidentally bumped it" Oramac replied before the smaller Five-Three-Eight asks for and receives permission to lead them away from this room and its tension.  

 

Hearing 538's monologue about the place, Oramac did his best to recount exactly what happened.

 

"We were sleeping when we heard a loud crash outside, so naturally we went to investigate.  The land is not always the most kind, which is why some of us have weapons and armor.  When we got outside, we saw your sleigh overturned and its driver, this One-One-Five-One-One, unconscious under the sleigh, and the reindeer roaming around it.  Gathering them up and righting the sleigh, I intended to determine the function of some of the circuits when I accidentally hit the red button.  And now we're here.  Wherever 'here' is."

[Terah]

15 minutes ago, The Most Loathed said:

538  

This is a radio station in the Netherlands   

https://www.538.nl/

 

Sorry, back to the story.

 

"The reindeer ran off frightened. We managed to get them back to the sleigh before the red button was pressed." Terah adds to Oramac's story. "I'm really sorry 11511 is hurt. Is there anything we can do to help?"

[The Most Loathed]

33 minutes ago, Terah said:

This is a radio station in the Netherlands   

https://www.538.nl/

 

Sorry, back to the story.

 

Yeah, I thought I had picked an arbitrary number until I realized it was 538, the name of my favorite news site.

[The Most Loathed]

538 listens to the recount of events. She has a slightly skeptical look on her face as the story wraps up.

"Well, I don't know how or why One-One-Five-One-One ran into your castle. She's a much better driver than that and there are... countermeasures for that kind of thing. But, you told you your story and I promised to explain things so here you go.

 

The Strange Women and Men in Red Suits is an international organization. People only think of us around Holidazzle but we're here all year long. I'm Five-Three-Eight, a domestic operative. I don't really ever leave our compound, this compound, in the Great White North.

We operate out of here because no sovereignty claims it,so it's ours. As I understand it, the land was cheap when we bought it. Finally, we have easy access to all the known lands and we do operate in all the known lands.

Once per year we deliver gifts to all the known lands. The history is kind of long but the legends and traditions that you practice with regard to us are practiced everywhere and we make good on the promise of those traditions. This year, though, something is going wrong.

Each field vehicle is equipped with a panic button. In the event that the agent's routine is disrupted it activates. It's a blinking red light. If the routine stays disrupted it self triggers, which is probably what happened to you.

Each year we have a couple agents who have trouble. We keep a few extras geared up and ready to go. We've already sent all of them out. We've had thirty-five agents disrupted this year. Seven is the average. We keep fifteen ready to step in."

 

She pauses and looks at the group meaningfully. This is also where people can ask questions of her. 

 

Once everyone has asked their questions she excuses herself briefly, promising to return.

 

Feel free to throw questions and conversation in here. I will try to get back online today and answer. I have kind of a full day ahead of me so I can't promise anything. Tomorrow I will wrap up all this exposition and get the group rolling out the door.

[Terah]

Terah lets all of this sink in. "Do you have any idea why your agents have trouble this year? Are there any steps taken to investigate?"

[Sloth the Enduring]

Yeah, I thought I had picked an arbitrary number until I realized it was 538, the name of my favorite news site.

I missed a bunch, but I wondered if that was on purpose. Maybe 538 would be a seer that was stupendously wrong.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lara]

Sorry I've been away the whole week too, pretty sick. 

 

"Is there any mechanical problem with the sleighs? Maybe the reindeers are not in top shape? What do your agents' reports say?"