Bring forth your players and let's see where we go!
You have logged in once more to Yggrasil. It has been quite a while for many of you. But the guildmaster has sent his request to meet once more before the server's shut down.
A grand feast has been prepared in the meeting hall.
Desseer moves his long platinum hair out of his eyes for the umpteenth time as he gazes around the dining hall. The golden place settings cause the room to be bathed in the all-too-familiar amber. None of the frogfolk wait staff were visible but he knew that they were ready to do as they were programmed.
"Now all that is left is for everyone to show up," he says aloud in his traditional breathy voice.
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Sanders had been getting ready for this for a couple weeks. He had requested several days off from work months in advance. Yggrasil had essentially been his home. Well, their guild mansion, the Arcane Abbattoir, is where he spent much of his non-work, non-sleep time. He had helped create Seeds of Slaughter and had volunteered to do the logistical work necessary to keep it running. As such, he was nominally the guildmaster.
SoS was a smaller guild. Their approach to raiding was...unorthodox. The combination of their builds allowed them to somehow manage every raid they tried. That is not to say that there weren't wipes, nor total cohesion. Usually, they'd wipe on the first try, argue, argue some more, try a second time before a real plan was made, and then get it on the third try (after a little more arguing, of course). It was...great. Sanders would not have it any other way.
But, Yggrasil was shutting down. With these kind of games it just happens eventually. And so, it was time to give it the send off appropriate to what it meant to him.
*************************************
"I do hope some of the others show up.."
Kimmy stood up and looked at the chair she had spent the last few hours putting together. Her hands were smudged with grease and her knuckles were red from the few times the wrench had slipped. She stood up and stretched before heading to the bathroom to wash up. She didn't have much time left before her rendezvous.
Lynk's eyes opened up as he raised his head up. He was in his laboratory, as was often the case when he awoke. He strolled around the room slowly, gently touching some of the tools and machines spread around the table in front of him. Days and days he had spent in this room, hard at work mixing and measuring and creating. He had served as a quartermaster of sorts to the others, when they weren't out seeking riches and glory. That reminded him, he was supposed to join the others. He glanced around the lab one last time fondly before exiting the room and closing the door.
The walk to the dining room was bitter-sweet. He had never really longed to join a guild, but now that it was all coming to an end, he knew he was going to miss it. He understood the value that his companions provided, but more than that, he had felt a kinship with them, one that Kimmy never really felt in her world.
"My apologies for my lateness. I was lost in my craft."
August prepared to use his old VR set for this first time in a year, his job had left him with precious little spare time, but he couldn't miss the final day, reuniting with his guildies. Normally he'd be working at this time of day but he had used some of his PTO for the occasion. The world around him faded away as the VR headset activated and transported him to Yggdrasil.
Bragus flexes his hands and stretches his muscles. "It's been quite a while, I forgot what it felt like to be this strong." Bragus strode forth, slowly at first, as he readjusted to his form, then with haste as he gained a taste for it. He bounded easily along the halls leading to the dining room, then gathered himself and entered calmly. "Thanks for keeping things running, got to say, it's nice to be back."
Lynk's predilection for a look that caused discomfort, shock, and/or other disturbed reactions took a long while for Sanders to get used to. He didn't understand why such a look was chosen. However, Lynk's position and comradery were cemented in SoS. He was an invaluable part of the team.
Lynk opens the door to see the now regal looking dining hall. Hunched over one of the place settings, moving some things around and back again, was Desseer. He quickly turns his head to see who was entering, and creates a scene with him looking strangely guilty.
"Oh!" he exclaims, both from the surprise of entry and likely the appearance of Lynk. He continues as he straightens up awkwardly and his voice jumps back to the regular sensual, "Lynk, I am so glad you came." Desseer walks over to greet him. The half-succubus's form fitting fancy clothes and graceful gait create a provocative masculine display. "I was not sure who would be showing up."
**********************************
Bragus opens the doors and sees Lynk and Desseer talking.
"Bragus!" Desseer exclaims with arms thrown up, "Come! Lynk and I were catching up."
"Greetings" Lynk said as he lowered himself into a formal bow. "One last foray into the darkness...I wouldn't miss it. I hope you are well" he said, placing his hand on Desseer's shoulder. He looked slowly looked around the dining hall, taking it all in. Found memories rose to the surface, many nights sharing stories and meals with his guild mates.
Pulling his hand back, he clapped them together in front of his chest. "Is there anything on the agenda for tonight?"
********before Bragus's arrival********
"Well," Desseer says enthusiastically, "I have set the creation date of the character and join date to display upon sitting in one of the seats. I kept record of each so that we could celebrate each character's 'birthday'." He then looks down to the polished wooden floor disappointedly, "It kind of fell through on my first attempt with Willow's so I scrapped it. But the information stuck around."
The mostly elf looking half-succubus gestures to the table, "I also wrote down, throughout the time, when people would mention food that they liked, or their favorite food. So the frogstaff is programmed to bring out everyone's favorite dishes."
Desseer is clearly hopeful that such things will be viewed as endearing.
Walking in late as usual, she struts up to Desseer and whispers loudly, "It looks like those who are coming, are here. No one else even replied to your invites. How rude!"
Desseer turns to Inennarra with a charming, warm smile, "My dear Inennarra, whomever shows up, shows up. It was not an expectation that any do. Merely a hope." His smile continues as he pauses and looks to the two present. "Besides, is not the presence of Lynk and Bragus enough?" he adds with a sly wink at Lynk.
He sweeps a hand out dramatically and holds it there as he recites, "It is far too easy to lose sight of what is for what could be or should be." He then sweeps out the other and gives Inennarra a playfule smile as he says in a pretend old waivering voice, "The past is history..tommorrow is a mystery..but today is a gift..that is why it is called the present."
She smiles and walks back to her pull down screen for security purposes.
The clock ticks down from 11:55...56, 57,.58, 59... and you expect to be force logged out.
Instead you look around and seem to be missing your Heads Up Display, HUD. You see each other. A more realistic version of your allies stand before you. But then a mysterious blue screen appears before you asking:
Welcome to Yggrasil!
Without severe magical spells in the future you are given the chance to change your gender.
Please select your choice:
Male/Female/Non-Binary
Attentive as always she grabs a pitcher and several wine glasses in one hand. She comes over handing one glass to Desseer before filling it with an orange clear liquid. With a wink she purrs, "Nectar of the gods! Oh are you feeling alright?" She looks concerned her facial features adjusting...
Smell was never apart of the game except for when it came to food. She has a very lemony citrus smell!
Desseer just holds the glass as he looks around for several seconds after the blue screen appears.
"Hey, did we just stumble into a Yggdrasil alpha test?" He pipes up a couple seconds later, "Have they been quiet about a Yggdrasil two?
"Hmmm...don't know. I haven't heard about a sequel. Haven't been keeping up to date with the latest though."
Bragus selects "Male" from the blue screen then looks around at himself, his allies, and their environment. The textures looked real, his white and brown fur looks just like that of his dog. The prosthetic limb attached to his right shoulder hums keenly with the buzz of electricity as he raises it to look at this reflection upon it's polished metal surface. His eyes shone with an electric blue. He tries his mouth, fangs snarling, his tongue laps around his lips.
"Whatever it is, it's definitely higher res."
"Yeah, higher res," Desseer responds as he also taps 'male' with a finger from the non-glass hand. He looks around some more and then pokes the air with the same finger at the top edge of his vision. He pauses and then does the motion again. After a third time, he frowns. "Uhhm, hey..can either of you access the main menu? Or any menu?"
She sashsays away and taps on her console, she says, "I can bring up the security menu, agriculture, and my other menus."
"Hmm, yeah," the elf-succubus says with piqued interest. He follows Inennarra over to her console and leans over her shoulder, his head right near hers.
"I wonder if..," he trails off as he pokes around on her console, trying to access some sort of root game menu function. His body is very close to hers though he seems to give very little regard to the proximity. He is clearly completely focused on the console.
"Fascinating. That was, unexpected." Lynk's hand reached out to touch the Male selection hovering in front of him.
*************************************
Kimmy's eyes widened in surprise and shock. 'Oh dear. I'm definitely going to have to clear my schedule for the foreseeable future. I'm sure the professor will understand.'
She opened another access point on her terminal and immediately began compiling all available information on Yggrasil from every site she could.
*************************************
"I do not recall any mention of another version of Yggrasil" Lynk said. "That seems almost impossible to keep secret, given the tremendous populace."
Some panic can be heard in Desseer's voice when he speaks again. His hands going through Inennarra's console appear a little frantic. "But we are clearly still in Yggdrasil. And, I don't know if you noticed, but without any access to any menus, we can't exactly end the dive!"
She let's Desseer take control of the console but does not move. Obviously enjoying the proximity as her breathing speeds up. She lightly bites her lip trying to remain in control.
At Desseer's paniced words she tries to calm him down, "Yes our world is called Yggdrasil. You are in your own guildhouse. What do you mean 'end the dive'?"
Desseer withdraws from next to Inennarra quickly and even takes a step back. He looks at her with an extremely puzzled look. "What do you mean what do I mean?" he asks hesitantly. "Why are you reacting so specifically to my words?"
Desseer turns to the others, "Am I alone here? Do her reactions not seem very fluid?"
Bragus stares on, mouth agape at the NPC. "Huh, maybe they've got NPCs hooked up to a chat-bot now, although you'd think that'd be reserved for like important story NPCs. Can't imagine the processing power it would take to run that through every NPC." Bragus reaches forward and pokes Inennarra's cheek.
She looks over at Bragus wide-eyed and confused. You can see her mind tracking by his words but it just not registering. She quickly backs up from Bragus after him poking her cheek.
She points out a bit curtly as her cheeks redden, "Bragus you don't have permission to touch another's subordinate. Please make sure to make requests in the future before acting." She moves back towards Desseer.
Willow enters into the dining hall. Their normally graceful step off. Something was clearly agitating one of the more human looking members of the guild. Despite this, their otherworldly beauty was generally only able to be explained away because of their angelic heritage. A heritage which had been a detriment growing up, but that now served to help hide their vampiric nature.
Distracted, Willow starts to speak, "My apologies for not showing up early. I felt I owed my subordinates one final briefing, but came to find that the server did not restar..."
The words would suddenly stop as Willow comes to watch the interaction between Bragus and the NPC Inennarra.
Suddenly the moments leading up to this situation started to be painted in color. Their subordinates had been acting differently...almost alive.
What was it that earlier prompt had said? they thinks to themself. Something about choosing your gender? he had absent-mindedly chose non-binary as he had during the initial creation of his character. Letting the prompt go as a simple system error as the system was shutting down, but now they were starting to see it in a different light.
Eyes wide, they simply and quietly ask, "What is going on here...?"
Desseer is completely distracted and doesn't notice Willow's entry. He looks on at Inennarra with an expression that is a mix of perplexed and worried.
"This can't..," he starts but trails off, his mind racing. "How does..," he starts again but loses it just as quickly. He then covers his face with both hands for several moments.
"Inennarra," he says finally in a measured tone while gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "I am going to try to cast a spell on you. It is a harmless one. Please allow it to succeed." He then turns his head to the others present, "I need you all to remain silent for a couple minutes. I can't tell you more as it will affect the test."
I wonder if I cast spells in the same way..
1st Round: Presence or absence of thoughts (from conscious creatures with Intelligence scores of 1 or higher).
2nd Round: Number of thinking minds and the Intelligence score of each. If the highest Intelligence is 26 or higher (and at least 10 points higher than your own Intelligence score), you are stunned for 1 round and the spell ends. This spell does not let you determine the location of the thinking minds if you can't see the creatures whose thoughts you are detecting.
3rd Round: Surface thoughts of any mind in the area. A target's Will save prevents you from reading its thoughts, and you must cast detect thoughts again to have another chance. Creatures of animal intelligence (Int 1 or 2) have simple, instinctual thoughts.
Each round, you can turn to detect thoughts in a new area. The spell can penetrate barriers, but 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt blocks it.
Willow nods to Desseer as they make their request, already taking the request to heart by not responding verbally. Being unaware of Desseer's intent, Willow does nothing to lower their own defenses.
The spell in regards to Willow simply seems to fail.
Willow watches on in hopes that their guild leader will reveal something about the current situation that would help make sense of it.
"Inennarra," he says finally in a measured tone while gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "I am going to try to cast a spell on you. It is a harmless one. Please allow it to succeed." He then turns his head to the others present, "I need you all to remain silent for a couple minutes. I can't tell you more as it will affect the test."
I wonder if I cast spells in the same way..
She nods in agreement as Desseer prepares the spell.
Myriana had been at the gathering from the beginning but had been keeping rather quiet as she felt it was a more solemn occasion, their last get together. She was one of the last people to join and the only one of the late Silken Kiss that had integrated into the guild to still be playing. She had been sitting quietly to one side because even now she still felt a bit like an outsider and that not everyone really trusted her after how it all went down.
It wasn't until things suddenly changed, looking far more real than normal, that she realized something...odd was happening. That became reinforced when her ears started twitching, a sensation she had never felt before, then it was added to by her tail swishing. Myriana had never felt either of those before, her body couldn't since it didn't have those features, but now she did!
Jumping up in shock at it all Myriana began to turn around and try to look at her tail and quickly fell flat on her ass. Her whole body felt different, and her balance was not what it had been with the tail involved. She called out from the floor, "Nya! I'm alright, everything's fine here, I can just suddenly feel my tail and I can't walk cause I can't balance."
Xander blinked. Then he blinked again. What the hell. He had not bought a new VR set. The game was supposed to be shut down. But now, the graphics were improved a thousand fold. And... he could smell and actually taste the area they were in.
And the sounds... how had they managed to make the chamber so echo-y?
He looked down and saw So'ren's hands and.. her chest? Ok, this was getting weird.
He felt the cool air of the chamber on his skin. Impossible. His apartment didn't have AC.
Finally, he brought his attention to the others around him. Holy s!+$, they look good... his hand instinctively went to the whip at his... no wait, her... side. She felts its cool steel laces and felt it respond to her touch.
How can this be happening?
"Uh, guys?" It really was So'ren's voice that came out of her throat, no his modulated to sound like her. She sounded even more perfect than he imagined. "Anybody know what's happening?"
Desseer scrunches his attractive face in thought. After a few moments he nods slightly to himself and looks at Inennarra seriously.
"Inennarra," he says bluntly, "I'm going to hug you now." He then moves forward and hugs her.
While hugging Inennarra, he looks around to the others present, "I'm trying to figure something out. I am reading minds currently. If you all could come over and remove or lower any defenses against it, I'd like to see if I can affect you and compare with an NPCs."
She obviously enjoys the hug and embraces him back, one leg even hiking up to wrap around one of his legs in a rather provocative action.
"Mistress Al'gith? We are at the meeting of the supreme guild masters. There seems to be some confusion. Stand behind me, I will protect you with my very life." the heavily armored plant-man raises his shield and stands before So'ren.
"You mean we. We will protect you, Mistress. Don't allow my oafish brother to claim all the duty again. You know I am your most loyal servant." the second of the twins takes his place behind his mistress, shield raised, drawing his sword with a loud clanging sound as the rings upon it clatter and ring.
Well, at least they're behaving normally. Why did I program them to be so competitive with each other? Weird to see them in the ... fiber???
"There is no need, it was a momentary confusion. We are among friends here. Put away your weapon, Peoni." So'ren said, trying for a reassurance she wasn't sure she felt.
"Desseer, stop perving, man. What the hell is going on? I thought the game was supposed to shut down."
Desseer inhales slowly and exhales in a sigh. His face indicates that he is concentrating on something.
"Firstly,..So'ren,..there are several...things..that are concerning...about the situation. Notice how...Inennarra...is acting beyond..a normal..hug emote. Something...is different."
"Secondly...Inennarra,..please unwrap your leg. There is..a time..and place...and this is neither. Feel free...to maintain the hug."
"Lastly,..would some of you...please...move over here...and allow me..to...read your mind?! This spell...doesn't last..forever."
Upon your words of distress she comes back to her senses, untangles her leg and remains hugging him less tight. She quickly laments quietly, "I am so sorry. I forgot myself. I didn't hurt you did I? Sorry you are struggling with your concentration, let me help." With a quick spell she is able to cast foxes cunning,
Willow is unsure of what Desseer is referring to at first, before they remember the ring upon their finger. Unsure of what is going on, they move forward with a nod into what they assume is the range of Desseer's spell. While doing so, they nonchalantly place their arms behind their back as if to hold them there. While that is part of the intent, they remove the ring from their finger before clasping their hands together. The ring safely between their hands.
Now aware of the intent of the spell, they allow the spell to take effect while focusing their thoughts on Desseer.
I certainly hope you find something from this Desseer.
"A bit weird, asking to read our minds. Whole world seems different. I don't know if my interface got hacked or what, but this isn't funny." So'ren complains in response.
No way I'm letting someone into my head willingly until I know for sure what is going on. I'm not looking for someone to reprogram So'ren, especially if I'm stuck inside whatever this is.
She steps over to Inennarra. "Please state your name, level, and function within the guild, Inennarra."
Lynk quietly retreated away from the growing crowd, turning his attention towards one of the nearest windows.
"With respect, I must decline. I appreciate your investigative approach, but I would not surrender my own privacies, even in the name of thoroughness."
"Along that same logic, perhaps we should consider seeing what is occurring outside of our sanctuary? Could this phenomenon be limited to this location, or it's residents?"
She shifts in her embrace with Desseer to look at So'ren and casually responds, "Inennarra, 5th level rogue, guild functions: infiltration and information gathering, as well as assist in guild upkeep logistics. You know this So'ren."
Looking outside you see plains as far as you can see. Not like the craggy mountainous region you should be located in.
A regal black and blue stripped tiger walks into the room. He takes a few minutes to analyze the room and has finally spoken. His sage words speak with wisdom, "If I might be of help. There has been a disturbance. I don't sense the presence of my clan. Perhaps there has been shifts in perceptions or perspectives."
"Thank you, Inennarra. Of course I do, I was making sure you did. Your behavioral parameters seem to have changed. I was wondering if maybe your capabilities had been upgraded." So'ren says with a slight smile.
"Midnight! I should say so. Things are looking different, sounding different, and the senses of touch and smell seem to have been ad---" Best be careful "altered. Tell me, has the Arcane Abbattoir always smelled this way to you? Oh, and have you seen Mar'Ikosh patrolling the grounds?"
Mar'Ikosh was So'ren's firepelt companion, a sacred guardian who patrolled the grounds of the Arcane Abbattoir tirelessly scouting for intruders and other dangers.
Desseer closes his eyes and exhales, releasing Inennarra as well. After a few deep breaths he speaks again, his attention no longer seeming distracted, "Thank you Willow." He continues matter-of-factly, "If you all remember, detect thoughts, the spell, could not affect fellow PCs. This is due to the dive device not actually being able to do a thing such as that. The spell only worked on NPCs and, when it did, there was a only a fairly simple script that would be produced. It could possibly deviate further with some NPCs and only if they were prompted."
Desseer's face reveals concern once more, "Not only did Inennarra not seem to have a script throughout, but initially there was very little prompt to derive anything from. In addition, and most importantly, I was able to read Willow's thoughts. Something, as I said, I should not have been able to do."
"My conclusion," Desseer says frowning while looking down at his own hands, "is that somehow, we are...here and this is real. Our minds are attached to these bodies."
"Thank you, Inennarra. Of course I do, I was making sure you did. Your behavioral parameters seem to have changed. I was wondering if maybe your capabilities had been upgraded." So'ren says with a slight smile.
She questions with curiosity, "They have? Interesting I feel like myself. Upgraded? Now that sounds interesting, Desseer what upgrades can I get?"
"Midnight! I should say so. Things are looking different, sounding different, and the senses of touch and smell seem to have been ad---" Best be careful "altered. Tell me, has the Arcane Abbattoir always smelled this way to you? Oh, and have you seen Mar'Ikosh patrolling the grounds?"
Mar'Ikosh was So'ren's firepelt companion, a sacred guardian who patrolled the grounds of the Arcane Abbattoir tirelessly scouting for intruders and other dangers.
As if the answer is a given his response is staggered, "That is a weird question. Yes. Well besides when the alchemists made those smoke/fart bombs, a few years back but that only took two months to clean out that stench. Yes Mar'Ikosh is patrolling the grounds as usual."
"My conclusion," Desseer says frowning while looking down at his own hands, "is that somehow, we are...here and this is real. Our minds are attached to these bodies."
Rather blatantly he replies, "Of course they are unless you use some Astral travel or dream walking. Why make the reference though?"
"Many of us have ... recently.... experienced a different dimension, Midnight. Our previous experiences here seem to have been covered in a dream-like quality, where things like scent and even sounds had a different, lesser quality to them." That's thinking on your feet. If what Desseer is saying is true, we're going to need all our allies to survive. There may not be extra lives. I don't want to find out what happens to my mind if this body dies. "The grounds seem to have ... moved... where are the protective mountain ranges, for example?"
