realmofstories | Chapter 05: Act II

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Chapter 05: Act II

A TWISTED WONDERLAND: ACT II—

§ instructions.

The Second Act is underway! This is the designated log for all Main Scenes. Others are free to create their own toplevels for the Sub Quests, which are detailed below. Each Main Scene has their own unique toplevel and those cast into the roles are to thread their scene under each. All scene instructions are provided in the toplevels.

Everyone is still starting from the forest of doors and will have to go through them to their area. Essences are back to normal and bound to their respective Aspect, however those who participate in scenes will have their Essence replaced with one based on the character they're playing (ex, Alice roles will now have Alice Essence at their disposal). This is only limited to the scenes—once they're back out they will have their Essence again. There are various items scattered throughout Wonderland that act as power ups and will grant additional Wonderland character Essence abilities. Example, wearing a top hat will grant bonus Mad Hatter abilities. These power ups are only available for the sub quests.

Finally, just to be clear, characters who are in Main Scenes are not immediately dropped in to their location and will have to pass through the designated door and then return. Threading all of that isn't necessary, but it's to help give a better idea that characters can take a break between scenes or wait a bit to help with other things like the Sub Quests.

Feel free to refer to the Game Notes for more detailed info as well as ask questions or clarifications.

§ sub quests.

Everyone is free to participate in the Sub Quests. There are no specific top levels, so you're free to incorporate them however you wish in your own top level.

¶ I. Courtroom Blitz. One of the doors leads to a giant courtroom that looks more like a combat ring complete with large crowds of spectators and a "judge" presiding over the matches. However, instead of it being cutthroat fighting, most of the locals participating are cards and everyone must fight using random silly props to try to score as many points as possible or knock the opponent off from the platform. Of course, nothing here is normal, and the battle platform will shift and move, large pillars sometimes rising up and random glitter bombs dropping down. The judge may even summon a giant (rubber) gavel to try and smash the fighters. Rather than this accomplishing anything important, it seems as if these bouts are to try and help train the cards to fight the good war in Wonderland as well as bolster confidence. Give them all a good show and help teach them a thing or two about (improv) fighting!

¶ II. The Horsey Moves in an L. Another door leads to a giant chess board and everyone takes the place of a chess piece, taking either the red or white side. Here is where most of the twisted clones are, so it is up to the Aspects to try and deal with them by defeating them on the board. The problem is everyone is limited to the moveset of the piece they replaced. Pawns can only move one space a turn, knights are three and over, bishops diagonal, rooks in a straight line. There are no Kings or Queens, but their roles are completely empty so no one has to worry about protecting them. When Aspects meet an opposing piece, they must defeat them to move on. This can either be through fighting or some other method to knock them off the space. At least they have their Essence abilities to use! If Aspects end up meeting each other, they do not have to fight. In fact they can team up to try and take out a nearby blot or clone, or swap roles to continue progressing through the board.

¶ III. Mirror Clones. Not only do the Aspects have to worry about Twisted Wonderland clones, but they also have to worry about their own clones. A mirror will sometimes rise up on the board and a clone of the Aspects will appear. It will try to take the original's place, sometimes even immediately disappearing to appear somewhere else on the board near another Aspect. The only way to destroy it is by destroying the mirror, but act fast before it fools the others. It is possible to become trapped within the mirror, and in that case the clone must be taken care of first.

¶ IV. Beware the Jabberwocky and the Bandersnatch. They occasionally pop out of nowhere. When one appears, all rules are gone and everyone can rush in to deal with them. Vorpal blades and… dog treats will appear on the battlefield which Aspects can use to hack at the monsters. The Bandersnatch will be surprisingly interested in the treats, but the Jabberwocky doesn't seem to be hungry for anything but Aspect flesh. As if things weren't dangerous enough, the clones might snatch blades to wield against the monsters, the Aspects, just about anyone within snickersnacking range.

¶ V. Wildcard. Make up your own prompt!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

When men on the chessboard get up and tell you where to go... (Prompt II)
[ Thank goodness, he got to keep his usual essence this time around. And it's chess! Chess is a good game...

Sort of. He's pretty sure there's not enough pieces in play, or too many, and that sure is a lot of enemies on the opposing side... He's not that frightened, now. He's got a sword, and he knows how to use it! With that in mind, he faces the twisted red clone with a smirk and...

Abruptly takes a left turn. ]

Huh?! [ Before he realizes it, he's managed to run three spaces away from where he tried to charge. ] What on earth was... Oh.

[ Oh, he gets it. He replaced a knight. He sighs. ] Brilliant. Whoever decided the knight should move in an L shape ought to be sacked.

And the white knight is talking backwards... (Prompt III)
[ Luca's getting some good essence practice with this mess. Snicker-snack, not quite beheading but definitely stabbing and slicing. Not something to sneeze at, but decent work.

Then he finds himself locked in an intense sword fight. With himself.

The clone looks like an exact mirror image at first, right down to the bruised eye being on the wrong side of the face. As the fight wears on, the clone becomes more de-saturated to the point of turning monochrome, while dark energy begins to spark around the real thing. Fighting yourself is exhausting, but he can't take his eyes off the clone. Not with how easily he'd get distracted.

With the two of them deadlocked in a fierce battle, the mirror stands unprotected. ]

Remember what the Dormouse said? (Forest of Doors)
[ At some point, Luca managed to duck out of the chess room for a while and find refuge under a tree. This book was... A lot. And he hadn't even been assigned to play a role... Or was he supposed to sign up for one?

Oh well, the forest seems to be looking much livelier than before. If this is what fixing stories does, then it's probably worth helping out. Yet, he can't help but gaze into the distance and try to spot an inky beast, or something that isn't a horrible clone... Who brought them here, again? A girl's silhouette?

He turns to face the first aspect he sees. ] Have you heard from that Storyteller yet? Or that Alice girl?

Feed your head! Feed your head!
[ You have reached the Wildcard prompt! If you'd like to plot out something special, feel free to reach me at

nyanka. ]

[ This was a game that Crane had never actually seen before, though after watching a moment he understood the basics of it. For his part, he seemed to have replaced one of the pieces that could only move diagonally, and though he comes to a stop in front of a pawn, they don't engage with one another. ]

It's a rather strange game.

[ A bishop, then? Nevermind that Luca seems to have a knack for encountering talking birds... In fact, he's gotten used to it.

But that's beside the point. ] Yes, but I thought it was rather well known. How are you faring?

Maybe in some places, though I've never encountered it back home.

But I think I'm getting the hang of it.

[ Right now, it was the other team's turn to move, so he had no choice but to wait. ]

That's good... Though I admit, this seems a bit different than the chess I'm used to...

[ He isn't sure who's turn it is now, but another piece is moving elsewhere so it doesn't quite matter. Yet. ]

[ He's doing his best to pay attention, and after one piece moves, he waits to see if any pieces on his side will move.

And one eventually does, which means even longer waiting. He doesn't even really mind, because it gives him more of a chance to study the board and see what else could be done. ]

How are you holding up?

[ Luca was doing some board studying of his own... ]

Alright... I suppose...

[ He sounds a bit distracted... ]

But without a king to put in check, what is our goal in this game... [ Mutter, mutter. ]

[ Not as familiar with the game, he can only take a look at what he sees in front of him. ]

Maybe to clear the board? Last side with a piece still standing is the victor?

That might take quite a long time, I imagine.

[ He nods, watching as another piece makes its move. ] Probably. It's all we have to go on at the moment, though.

Unfortunately...

[ Look at that piece go. ]

[ Yup. Look at them go.

While there's no kings though, there still were the queens, and Crane frowns as he watches one move. ] What's the moveset for that piece?

[In this case, the first aspect he sees is lying on his back, looking exhausted, worried, and generally like he's had quite a time of it. In past Campaigns, Wembley's bounced back from the danger and risk like a ~~fool~~ champ. But in this case, things are a bit different.]

No. [It's said as a sigh.] I hope... She's okay.

I'm sure she's fine...

Wait. Who...? [ Who was talking to him? He glances around himself in confusion before spotting the yellow critter on the ground. ]
Oh... Hello there. [ ... The other one was orange and purple, he just saw him at the chess thing earlier... ] Are you doing alright?

[Wembley sits up and glances over.]

Oh, I'm fine. Uh, sorry. I'm just worried about Alice. What we saw before we came here wasn't very good.

What we saw...?

[ He furrows his brow and tries to think... But whatever it was, it went by so fast that he's already forgotten about it. ]

I don't know what you mean, but she did reach out to us all of a sudden. I do hope whatever we're doing can fix things.

[Wembley blinks a couple of times. Didn't everyone see that vision...? How could it be forgotten?]

Well, I know the other times Aspects have gone into stories, it's worked, even if sometimes things have really changed, apparently. I'm not familiar with these stories to begin with.

[ Blame Luca's brain, it malfunctions regularly. ]

You're not? Well, I suppose it's not that necessary if we're not required to stick to the original plot...

[ That being said, he was at least somewhat familiar with the stories being retold... ]

[Gobo, also being a knight, had to get used to that sort of motion. He glanced up at the comment from his position a few spaces away, keeping his hand on the hilt of his sword sheathed at his side.]

Maybe yeah, but if you do it in a kinda- [And rather than words, he illustrated his point in midair with his finger. Up, three spaces left, up, three spaces right, up] -way, then you can really make some ground.

[He snorted.] 'Course I've never played this game before today so I'm figuring it out as I go, but hey I'm still here too. That's gotta count for somethin'.

[ He nods at the fraggle... Then does another take. ]

Say, have we met? You seem familiar.

[He had to think about that a moment, wondering if he'd met him before- Silly Creatures all looked alike to him anyway, to a certain point. Then he snapped his fingers.]

Yeah! You came by when I was practicing my new Essence. I'm Gobo.

Oh! Hello, Gobo!

[ Yeah, that's right. They have met! And it should have been a little easier considering how Luca has a distinct marking (scar?) over his lazy eye. ]

How are you holding up with the chess game?

[That sound was somewhere between a snicker and a huff as he waved a hand at the board.]

Okay, I guess? It took me a while to understand how the rules went, but like I said I'm still on the board so I must be doing pretty good so far.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Chapter 05: Act II

Luca Balsa | Count of Monte Cristo

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Forest of Doors

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Chessboard

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