Artificer's Haven

[Magic]

As promised to some of you, this is the RubyQuest esque image by image adventure game that I have been working on for a bit now. It will function exactly as RQ has, with input from posters. That means you. So without further ado, let's start throwing people headfirst into the madness without rhyme or reason.

(Oh, and whether or not the images have full color will vary from time to time. Whenever I can spare the time.)

--

It doesn't come naturally to you.
You have to gather momentum, naturally.
Your mind will be bound by laws your body have long forgotten.

You will traverse purely physical spaces.
Life and death will see you pass, and weave you into the tapestry of time.
The angel carrying the greatest burden across the veil of reality.
The gaps between worlds will turn rough on you.
First, cold and bleak then, airless and silent.
Then, it would become difficult to discern time.

But nothing compared to the realms under.
The void pulses like a heart in your head, clawing at you with invisible fingers.
Beyond, are abstractions and abominations.
Universes left incomplete whose tiniest flaws have become unspeakable monsters.
Fields of flesh in pain and oceans of curdling blood.

The journey will go on for long after I die, further than the limits of your body and beyond.
The muscles of your body will lock, and the senses of your mind will die.
Your name and purpose leave you.
You will be sharpened to the nub of your will.
Then, no jolt nor shock. Nothing at all.

Destiny.



Now, wake up. I don't have eternity to live.

[techmaster-glitch]

...

wooooooot.

And it's "artificier's haven", and not "artificer's"? Interesting...


>Observe surroundings/situation?

[ShadesFox]

Are your hands bound? Can you move?

[Magic]

>observe surroundings/situation
All around me, I see a vast field of white light as far as the eye can see. A feeling of weightlessness fills me, as if I have no body at all. The light consumes the very core of my being. Am I dead? Is this heave-- oh.



Oh, uhm.

I guess not.

>Are your hands bound? Can you move?
I'm still bound by several hundred thousand quintuple redundant magical wards specifically designed to prevent me from killing someone with my pinky finger. Aside from my head and my face, I cannot move at all.

Good, listen up, I'm going to shut off the field. I need you to helarrakr! Sounds of a scream abruptly cut off by blood in his throat could be heard, followed by a sickly wet explosion, then silence.

[ShadesFox]

Well, clearly he isn't helping you anymore. Use ears to pick the locks and/or destroy crystal

[Magic]

Expect me to phase out coloring and stick to lineart sometime soon.

--

>Well, clearly he isn't helping you anymore.

Or did he?



A terrible gnawing and crunching sound from the east. Constant and abrupt. You start to hear the wind and all other machinations all around your prison. It would appear the crystal was silencing all other sounds except for the man's voice.

[ShadesFox]

Clearly east sounds like a bad direction to go, what with the crunchy death and all.  Maybe we should,
*looks down, sees pit*
Go east after all.  Crunchy sounds good right about now.

[Magic]

>Go east.



It's awfully dark in the next room.

[techmaster-glitch]

Hmm, so you're taking every individual poster input, rather than letting input from several users accumulate? (Or maybe you'll do that later, when there's actually more to do...)

And oh, it was supposed to be "Artificer"? Heh, no wonder I couldn't find anything in the dictionary...

>Examine the white speck, if it's not too dark? (or is that a solid wall?)

[Magic]

We'll settle on a voting system if there's more than one or two people playing.

Besides you, and Shades there is only one or maybe two other people I know who's interested. Nevermind that this game is pretty obscure as is. But don't worry, Haven is a pretty big place.

--

>Examine the white speck, if it's not too dark?

Strange, it's not so dark anymore.



Uh, what white speck?

[Lisky]

>Poke the strange blue object in the background at about shoulder height, just a smidge beyond  it's vertical edge (about where the white speck appeared to be, earlier)

[hapless]

>Tell me, do you know what a grue is?

(Sorry, had to... *runs away*)

[ShadesFox]

Fffffffffffff there was distinctly a puddle of blood there a second ago!  And who needs to be afraid of grues when there is Red.  Look for a light switch!

[Magic]

>Poke the strange blue object in the background at about shoulder height, just a smidge beyond  it's vertical edge (about where the white speck appeared to be, earlier)



That did nothing. Looks like this is a two way mirror.

>Tell me, do you know what a grue is?

I'unno. Is it something to eat? I'm a little hungry.

>Look for a light switch!

Light seems to follow me.

[ShadesFox]

Punch it!  Punch the mirror!  Then attack anything on the other side!

Failing that go right.

[Magic]

>Punch it!  Punch the mirror!



Unlike the crystal or the field, the mirror is real and surprisingly yields to a well aimed punch.

This hurts, though, with what the shards flying.



>Then attack anything on the other side!

It reveals a small guard room and armory. No one to attack, though, as it is deserted. Strangely, the guards didn't take the swords with them when they left.

[Suwako]

Wield as many swords as you can.

Failing to wield any of them; Look at the letter. 

[techmaster-glitch]

>Along with the paper, examine the two bottles/vials in the table, but DON'T drink them! And of course, assuming we can climb over those shards safely...they look pretty dangerous. If we can't climb over without suffering injury, go right.

[SquirrelWizard]

pocket a shard of the mirror, it might come in handy.

[Cogidubnus]

Attempt to enter the guardroom without cutting yourself. Say, by moving a little bit forward and checking for a door. If able to enter the room, read the note and examine the two liquids. If strong enough, take a sword.

[techmaster-glitch]

I say Cog's action is the most well-worded And I'd go for adding Squirrel's action, too (This is a mirror and not a window? Yes, definitely (carefully) get a shard of it. Can peek around corners )

[SquirrelWizard]

> Say hello to the pumpkin.


Not a command per say, but is it safe to assume that the gal here has a sense of self preservation, and will attempt to avoid obvious methods of injuring herself?

[ShadesFox]

Leap and tumble through the window, strike a pose!

After that down the red liquid and grab a sword!  Read the note while your at it.

[Lisky]

I second Shade's choice! Or, at the very least, poke the red liquid...

[techmaster-glitch]

Noooo

Yes to reading the note, maybe to grabbing a sword if it can be wielded, probably shouldn't jump the window unless it can be done without tripping, but absolutely no drinking the liquid, my little voice in her head says...

(in other words, + to squirrel and cog for self-preservation and avoiding obvious injury)

[Lisky]

Now is the time for bold and rash action!

[WhiteFox]

Float through the window so you don't cut yourself on the glass, and make sure not to step on any broken glass when you land.

Tear an inch of fabric off the bottom hem of your dress, and use it to tie your hair back. That way, it wont get in your face, and your hair would look pretty with a bow.

If you've cut yourself punching the window, remove any glass shards and heal yourself with magic. If you can't use magic, bandage yourself with some of the fabric.

Read the letter.

Smell the liquid cautiously, but don't drink it.

Take a sword with you if it's not too heavy to carry around for a while. If it is too heavy, break off a table leg and take that with you.

[Magic]

This will be the last one reply one action updates. Nominate actions, second them (and suggest alterations). She will voice herself, sometimes, as well.

---

>pocket a shard of the mirror



>try to enter the armory (un)safely

The shards will snag on my robes, not to mention rake on my legs and body. There might be a way to minimize the danger with what I have.

>look east for an alternate path



>Tear an inch of fabric off the bottom hem of your dress, and use it to tie your hair back. That way, it wont get in your face

>If you can't use magic, bandage yourself with some of the fabric.



Done, sans bow. I can do without one, thanks.

[VAE]

>try to jerk the shards out of the frame, so that they don't rip you when crossing

[techmaster-glitch]

Whitefox's idea led me onto something.

>Memory check. Do you know who you are, and if you have any special abilities? Why might you have been in that anti-magic cell?

In lieu of, or after, that...

>Examine the door (and the note on the door) to the east closer. You probably can't remove the jagged shards from the window without some kind of tool. Using your bare hands will probably tear them up...