DefTG 2: Alchemiquest

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A continuation of a project from long ago.

This is a game in the style of the Destroy the Godmodder series. Any Players who'd like to join the fray are welcome to enter in and fight for their survival here. Are you ready to do some Alchemy?
Narrator to Narrator - 1
"... Hm. Allow me to try something."
On the Arbiter Plane, the narrative abruptly cuts to Torix as he seems to activate a second monitor. Fiddling around with it, the screen gradually fades from static to another version of the Arbiter Terminal he uses - this one not monitoring the Soul Orb, but rather, a prison of some sort. A single wolf-like being, oddly missing its tail, sits at a laptop and seems to be typing...
"Alright. I think I've got another terminal running. And... let's see, I think that's Kit... as long as I have my info right. Seems like he's... not got access to much but an outdated version of Windows... hold on. Hey, can you hear me?"
The being's ears seem to perk up as it acknowledges the voice.
[I'm just messing around, trying to bust the joint for fun. But hey, I like a bit of chaos~]
"I know what you're doing here, anyway. And why you're here... inference and a literal dump of information written by you makes that a whole heck of a lot easier. Either way, with this working, I figured I might as well try and lend a hand."
A slight pause as Torix tries to consider what to say next.
"Your work is important, and I understand burnout. Plus, with what you're doing for Xorm..."
"Seems like getting outta here might make your job easier, no?"

[Hehe, sure~ I was just pushing words from my head when I dropped all that. No need for you to react. But sure, I wouldn't mind being the first Narrator to skip Ex Machina.]
"Well then. Give me a moment or two to write your surroundings."

-=+=-​

Alright. You find yourself in a small-ish prison cell with... not too much to work with, unfortunately. Iron bars and a sturdy door block your way out, but you've got your laptop with you to at least write for Xorm. Unfortunately, his actions seem to take up your time as well... but hey. Now then - I *think* by being here, I might be able to make this a bit more of a fair battleground for ya, and not some inescapable prison. Neutrality's the game here.

Either way - what would you like to do? Currently, you seem to have 1 more Action due to this sidequest just having started, but in the future, you and Xorm will have to share the set of three.

-=+=-​

Ex Machina Prison - Cell Block A
[N?] KitRougard - Not Injured

[EX] Metal Bars - 10,000/10,000 HP, Keeping Kit in his cell! Break either these or the door to get out.
[EX] Cell Door - 7000/7000 HP, Locked. Needs Key.

[EX] Cell Block Guard x2 - 5,000/5,000 HP, 3000 Attack
I think "Player Power" might function a bit differently here.

Inventory -
[LVL -- Passive] Laptop - Hey, it's your laptop! Seems a bit outdated, but still works great.
- Allows for write-ins for actions as Xorm. You and he still share three Actions, though!
 
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Narrator to Narrator - 2
[Well... As tempting as it is to pound a hole in the wall, I was only allowed my laptop through good behavior. And I don't know what a Narrator's Power is like in here - The Warden made sure to make things vague and uninteresting, so there were no Plot Points to make or expand. So for now... I guess I'll wait. See if I can find a proper Plot Point when they take be for the yard, or Mess or something. The Collector I sold my tail to might be willing to start a bit of a revolution... Heh.]
You can feel his smirk through the screen. Then he closes his eyes and meditates, trying to center himself in the newly described world. How strong was he, compared to the rest? Who was he? He had to quantify... everything.

[Attempt to determine personal base stats. Wait for a normal chance to stretch my legs, see the rest of the prison through Arbitrated eyes.]

Hm... it seems like you have power similar to the Players at the start of Moniker's Arbitering period from the last war - or at least, when the archives started. That equates to a bit of an odd HP system (I'll explain in a bit) and roughly 5000 "Player Power." Despite the lack of a Godmodder, I guess your... narrative force kinda has the same effect here.

As for your health, it's split into tiers - Not Injured, Slightly Injured, Moderately Injured, Heavily Wounded, and Mortally Wounded. Although Not and Slightly Injured have no effect on your power, the further injured you are the less you'll be able to do. Hitting Mortally Wounded is your deathbed when you're going solo like this - it allows for one last, amazingly potent action if you don't bleed out beforehand, but that's it. After that, you're gone for good. Counters are also a lot more powerful in your current state, allowing you to fully counter an attack much more easily - at the cost of being a free action, it depends on the quality of writing - the better your counter is, the more likely you'll escape unharmed.

Anyways - after an indeterminate amount of waiting, you're escorted out to the yard... surprisingly. Though just as bland as the interior, there's quite a few more people here - and guards as well.

-=+=-​

Ex Machina Prison - Cell Block A
[N?] KitRougard - Not Injured

[N?] Narrative Prisoners x15 - 10,000/10,000 HP, 2000200 Attack, x15 Shackled (power decreased by 90%!)
[N??] The Collector - I have no idea what's going on with this guy. Supposedly sells stuff?

[EX - Elite] Yard Wardens x2 - 20,000/20,000 HP, Imprison (Deals 5000 damage and inflicts Shackled for 5 turns.)
[EX] Cell Block Guards x5 - 5000/5000 HP, 3000 Attack x5

Inventory -
[LVL -- Passive] Laptop - Hey, it's your laptop! Seems a bit outdated, but still works great.
- Allows for write-ins for actions as Xorm. You and he still share three Actions, though!
 
Narrator to Narrator - 3
[FREE ACTION: NARRATOR TO NARRATOR]

Kit closes his laptop for a minute and looks around. Does some math. And then he goes to the Collector and smiles. "Hey..." he starts quietly. "Listen. I have a man on the outside who's setting up Plot Hooks. I need something I can use to dispel debuffs... Like a microphone to recite an inspiring story through. Your payment? Access to the outside world when this is over with. Deal?"

The Collector, shocked that someone even has the guts to talk to him seemingly, turns to you. As with all stereotypical mysterious shopkeeps, he seems to be wearing a dark robe with not a glimpse of his face visible beneath it. As he does this, it becomes apparent that he's been here for a while... regardless, it seems strange that he's not Shackled to me.
The Collector - ... Deal. Good luck.
You're handed the Portable Stage, in exchange for another route to the outside world! This somewhat strange item seems to be able to dispel otherwise non-dispellable debuffs and increases Shenanigan-based attack power by 1000... Player Power. Redundancy aside, that was surprisingly simple. Seems like you haven't drawn any suspicion just yet...

-=+=-​

Ex Machina Prison - Prison Yard
[N?] KitRougard - Not Injured

[N?] Narrative Prisoners x15 - 10,000/10,000 HP, 2000200 Attack, x15 Shackled (power decreased by 90%!)
[N??] The Collector - I have no idea what's going on with this guy. Supposedly sells stuff?

[EX - Elite] Yard Wardens x2 - 20,000/20,000 HP, Imprison (Deals 5000 damage and inflicts Shackled for 5 turns.)
[EX] Cell Block Guards x5 - 5000/5000 HP, 3000 Attack x5

Inventory -
[Unique Weapon] Portable Stage - A portable stage of sorts for your own actions. Seems like something straight out of Paper Mario: TTYD.
- Makes dispelling otherwise permanent status effects possible.
- Also grants 1000 additional Player Power to shenanigan-based actions. This effect scales with base Player Power.

[LVL -- Passive] Laptop - Hey, it's your laptop! Seems a bit outdated, but still works great.
- Allows for write-ins for actions as Xorm. You and he still share three Actions, though!
 
Narrator to Narrator - 4
Kit counted up a little bit of math, thin grinned something wicked.
"Time for a magic show~"

[Reserved Action: Ladies And Gentlemen!]
He walked into the middle of the nondescript yard, and flicked out that compressed piece of paper. It flourishes into a fully sized stage, with enough decoration for any act of any sort. There's even a burst of confetti to draw the intrigue of the other prisoners - And the ire of the guards.

Kit flips onto the stage, and conjures up some generic stageman's clothes to go with the art he was about to perform.
"Ladies and gentlemen! I am here on this stage today to show you everything is not as it seems! The folds of spacetime are paper thin, and paper-sharp! Once I remind you all how to use them..." he begins proudly. Then there's a dark gleam in his eyes, a predatory curl to his smile.
"Why. I daresay that even Ex Machina couldn't hold us." he growls, provoking a defensive reaction from the guards. One of the nearby Cell Block Guards rushes the anthro wolf on the stage, foolishly.

"Inmate Kit, return to your cell right now, or I will report your actions to the War-MMMPH!" he begins, before being folded up like he was a mere piece of paper.

"See? Once you take a moment to think it through, put a little elbow grease into it..." Kit says, purposely oblivious to the other guards creeping towards him. He's folded the first Guard into a key, now... And with a flick of his paw, there's a lot more keys. 15 of them, in fact. "The key to whatever Ails you is right at hand~" he croons, dealing paper keys to the Shackled inmates like a poker professional.

He hears the other guards converging on the stage, and with a whimsical hand to the side, a cane appears from offstage to try to yank him off. "Oh, looks like that's my cue!" he smirks as the cane grabs him by the waist and pulls him into the curtains. Following the disappearance of the wolfish stageman, the stage itself folds back up, causing the guards to crash together comedically over it.

Kit is back in the crowd, helping one less dexterous inmate unlock his cuffs with a paper key. Afterwards, he clears his throat.

"In case it wasn't clear what I was trying to pull for you guys..." he says loud and clear.

"PRISON BREAK!"
Kit screams with glee, hopefully whipping the newly unshackled inmates into a minor frenzy~

Neither side of the prison yard saw it coming! As the now-unshackled inmates regain their abilities to their fullest potential, the unprepared guards quickly draw their weapons and prepare to quell this uprising as they have so many others.

... An end of turn battle section doesn't really make sense here, due to there only being one participant in this "sidequest..." I guess I'll just fill in the rest of the battle here, then! The Narrative Prisoners, moving first, quickly manage to deal enough to overwhelm the generic Cell Block Guards and deal 5000 damage to one of the Yard Wardens!

The Yard Wardens split their attacks, dealing 5000 damage to one of the Narrative Prisoners and reinflicting Shackled on it! The other one begins moving to suppress you, swinging a simple baton that crackles with purple energy at you! Though it'll inflict damage, the more worrying thing to worry about is that Shackled effect... but that seems simple enough to counter now, doesn't it?

-=+=-​

Ex Machina Prison - Prison Yard
[N?] KitRougard - Not Injured

[N?] Narrative Prisoners x14 - 10,000/10,000 HP, 2000 Attack, x14
Narrative Prisoner - 5000/10,000 HP, 2000200 Attack, Shackled (5 turns left).
[N??] The Collector - I have no idea what's going on with this guy. Supposedly sells stuff?

[EX - Elite] Yard Warden - 20,000/20,000 HP, Imprison (Deals 5000 damage and inflicts Shackled for 5 turns.)
Yard Warden - 15,000/20,000 HP, Imprison (Deals 5000 damage and inflicts Shackled for 5 turns.)

Inventory -
[Unique Weapon] Portable Stage - A portable stage of sorts for your own actions. Seems like something straight out of Paper Mario: TTYD.
- Makes dispelling otherwise permanent status effects possible.
- Also grants 1000 additional Player Power to shenanigan-based actions. This effect scales with base Player Power.

[LVL -- Passive] Laptop - Hey, it's your laptop! Seems a bit outdated, but still works great.
- Allows for write-ins for actions as Xorm. You and he still share three Actions, though!
 
Narrator to Narrator - 5
[Actions 2+3 - I Ask Forgiveness, Not Permission.]

Kit felt time slow as that club came down on him. There were a lot of things he could do in this moment, but right now, his mind tilted towards... forbidden writings.

Narrators were mighty beings, but their power came from their limits. When the Narrative Force imbues one, it enforces laws upon them... And dearly punishes those who would break them.

[[ARE YOU CERTAIN YOU WISH TO PROCEED?]]

It was hardly a "warning," no, this was a SCREAM from the abyss telling him to back off. There was no "Yes" or "No," only "I would like to go hide in my bed from the boogeyman."

And still he persisted.

"Alyssa... It's me, remember?"

That wasn't the Yard Warden's name by any means. Why was he spouting this nonsense?

"We... Went to the same high school? H-How's your girlfriend doing?"

Memories fragmented and crystallized as Kit attempted a Literary Sin... Modifying an OC. The Formation Soldier now known as Jets was clean - His Narrative was copy-pasted across the masses, a background character with an open-ended reality. But the Warden made certain to fill his creations with life and history - With enough personal flair they all had an established role in his literary universe. To corrupt one was unthinkable, an act that would tear at a Narrator's connection... But. Here Kit was. He needed a man (or woman) on the inside, a Plot Hook of sorts that knew the corridors and rooms of Ex Machina.

He coughed up a pitch-black lump of ink. And he kept going.

"It's me, Kit - You know me, I'm just lazy! I never meant to start those worlds, and let them sit - I just haven't had the motivation! Get me out of here. I don't care what happens to the others except The Collector, I cut a deal with him, just... For old times sake?"

One last line to seal his self-betrayal - And even then it wasn't certain to work. Merely attempting this kind of thing would scar him, regardless of success. But he had to try.

"Remember when you broke your leg climbing the apple tree in my backyard? My arms just ache thinking about carrying you all that way..." the wolf laughs, before coughing up a larger blob of The Narrative's pure, concentrated hatred, and looking up at the Yard Warden who was swinging on him.
"I'm happy you got where you wanted to be, Alyssa."

[TL;DR: Two actions, the Moderately Wounded health status, and Broken (Cannot be healed, 5 turns), all to try to convert a Yard Warden.]

The Warden - Alyssa? Whatever or whoever she - them - by whatever remains of Heaven, this is confusing... I dunno if this worked or not, but that Warden definitely seems confused by your actions regardless, and there's... a hint of sympathy behind her (yeah, I'm just gonna roll with her) eyes. Whatever you did just then, despite causing you a lot of pain and heavily hindering your narrative power, seems to have gotten through to her and potentially modified an OC... somehow. I didn't even know that was possible.

Meanwhile, the battle around you rages on. The Yard Warden - Alyssa - she pauses for a moment before she stops and just... looks at you. She seems stunned for a moment, but then just shakes her head at you, sighs a little, and moves on with a look that says that they'll come back later. Well, the good news is that you aren't being hit with a club anymore, and... your attack - defense - whatever the heck that just was - seems to have worked.

Regardless, though, the Narrative Prisoners and the Yard Wardens continue. 2 more are shackled, and though about half of them are trying to figure out a way to leave and therefore not attacking at the moment, several more attack the Yard Wardens, dealing about 6000 more damage to both of them. This is... not looking good for the prison's warden, or... you, for that matter. You look seriously hurt, Kit... so be careful, please?

-=+=-​

Ex Machina Prison - Prison Yard
[N?] KitRougard - Moderately Wounded [Action Power halved], Broken [Can't be healed, 5 turns left]

[N?] Narrative Prisoners x12 - 10,000/10,000 HP, 2000 Attack, x14
Narrative Prisoners x3 - 5000/10,000 HP, 2000200 Attack, Shackled (5 turns left).
[N??] The Collector - I have no idea what's going on with this guy. Supposedly sells stuff?

[EX - Elite] Yard Warden - 14,000/20,000 HP, Imprison (Deals 5000 damage and inflicts Shackled for 5 turns.)
[N - KitRougard?] Alyssa, Yard Warden - 9000/20,000 HP, Imprison (Deals 5000 damage and inflicts Shackled for 5 turns.)

Inventory & Slightly Irrelevant Maps -
docs.google.com

DefTG 2: Alchemiquest - Maps & Miscellany (XXXIII)

Landing Page Alchemiquest Maps Sheet Rules of advice: Silver sheets mark incomplete areas, where the story objectives have not been finished. Golden sheets mark areas where the story objective's completed, but side objectives remain. Crimson sheets mark areas where all side and story objectives...
 
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